


Skein: The Depths of Memory

by UsagiSquared



Series: Skein [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Female Seto Kaiba in other words, Gender or Sex Swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2020-07-08 23:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 301,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UsagiSquared/pseuds/UsagiSquared
Summary: Part 6 of Skein - Covering Noa's Virtual WorldNo one likes an interruption, but ghosts of the past have little care for the desires of the living. And as the endless limits of the digital bring forth vital matters of the past, Jonouchi Katsuya is not the only one awakening into his power...And the former 'Priest' finds that even more recent years have skeletons she needs to unbury.





	1. Entering The Lotus Eater's Realm

Sleep to most, was an important aspect of life. It was a way to calm down, recharge, a way to prepare for what was yet to come. It was required to do so in fact and without sleep it could take as little as a few days for death to set in.

For the moment though as Honda and Otogi ran past to hurriedly knock on Jonouchi's door, sleep did not seem to be something that would happen anytime soon despite the fact that it was already one in the morning. Anzu and Shizuka both were thankfully not in his room it seemed, the girls likely standing at Mai's bedside. Both had requested a stay in his own between their self-made guard shifts by the woman's side after all, and though their things now sat in the room there was not a soul to be seen. For the moment, his room would be completely empty...

The perfect place to discuss whatever it was Ishizu wished to talk about. At least that was what the lighter half of him was doing, having switched out after the door closed over. The boy looked back at Ishizu as he turned to the door, rubbing the back of his head as the woman jumped at the switch. "Ah... If you want to talk to the other me Ishizu-san," he began, Ishizu in question staring somewhat blankly, "I understand... It's just that with all that happened today," Yugi continued worriedly, "He's completely exhausted and..."

And not responding, so his offer was either going to turn really awkward or...

He shook himself, flushing. "Well, not as though you probably aren't tired yourself of course, but-"

Ishizu smiled gently, shaking her head as she watched the flustering boy before her. "It's fine," she said calmly, moving to the side to allow him to pass. "The bond between yourself and the spirit of the pharaoh is strong. If he needs to rest," she continued, bowing her head, "Then so must you; I will make this quick." Ah-

Well when he thought about it, it was late so... "T-Thank-you," he said calmly, moving into the room. "I'll try not to interrupt."

Another bowed head, and as the woman took a seat she began. "Since the end of the nameless one's reign," the woman explained, "Those of my blood, traced to the priestesses of the court, have guarded the secrets of those times, under the orders of the succeeding Queen. We have sacrificed much in order to do this, protecting the Millennium Items entrusted to us and the secrets of the memories within," she continued, Yugi looking at the woman with a sad frown.

"Then... I was right..." Like Malik, she had been a tomb guardian. And if that was the case, then that would mean... "You're Malik's sister, aren't you?" he said quietly, Ishizu turning away with a nod. A small span of silence passed, the boy pressing on with a swallow. "In that case... Could you tell me, for everyone's sake," he asked, "Why he's like this? Why he's so driven to kill, or even excited about it?"

The woman stared, before slowly nodding as a depressed gleam appeared in her eyes. "I can," she said quietly. "I can, if you so wish it... It is a bit of a long story," Ishizu continued, "But I-"

"I don't mind staying awake," Yugi said with a smile, shaking his head somewhat. "With all that's going on," he added half seriously, a nervous laugh escaping him, "I don't even know if I'll be able to sleep, ahaha..." ...Actually, now he probably wouldn't sleep at all...

Again Ishizu stared, folding her hands in her lap as she seemed to study the boy before her. "I see," the woman finally said, nodding as she spoke. "Very well then. As you likely know," she began somewhat quietly, "We of the Ishtar family are the protectors of the Tauk and Rod, guardians of the Pharaoh's memories and records. For thousands of years," she went on, "We have lived separate from the world, hidden beneath the ground in the remains of a series of tombs and catacombs. Within our family, the heir of the main line, the first-born male," Ishizu clarified quickly, "Would receive a rite of passage, the carving of the 'pharaoh's memory' across his back. This 'memory' came from the remains of the following Queen's order after the nameless one's passing," she explained calmly, "With instructions on how to aid the pharaoh's spirit in passing along with laws that dictated when this would happen." Ah...

A Queen ordered all of this? But why?

The boy held his tongue as Ishizu seemed to pause before him, before continuing on. “Malik was... Malik was this heir," she stated, eyes closing over slightly in memory. "As for the tragedy that sent us here, that has made things as they are, it happened five years ago...” A full year after this carving had been made across his back. "Malik you see, had an attraction to the outside world," Ishizu told him, "A desire to see the outside more than anyone we had ever known. My aunt, whom I saw perhaps twice in those times, believed he inherited this trait from our mother. However she had insisted that it would pass, and that Malik would soon accept his fate and ties to the tombs."

"That... He didn't though, did he?" Yugi found himself saying, the woman across from him nodding in response.

"For the past two days following his thirteenth birthday, he pretended to have a fever with a plan to visit the outside in mind, fooling even our father," she explained, staring somewhat at the table between the chairs. "The plan itself was just as simple as the moments leading to it really. Rishid would stay behind, holding the facade of illness in his absence, while I guided Malik outside for two hours exactly. We would leave at sunrise I had told him, and the expression on his face when he saw the sun for the first time in his life... I..." The woman bowed her head, closing her eyes as tears began to fall, her words cracking somewhat under the pressure of the memory. "I know now, that despite what our family was ordered to do, we should never have remained as closed off as we had," she continued, attempting as best she could to keep the tears and chokes from interfering with the tale. "Perhaps back then, in the ancient times, it was easier. But above us," the woman exclaimed, "The world had changed completely, and the sights that we saw completely overwhelmed us! Vehicles that we had never even dreamed of, skyscrapers in the distant horizon marking Cairo, planes soaring overhead... Two hours had passed before we knew it," she whispered in nostalgic muttering, "But on our way back from all of this, we encountered someone who knew who we were exactly. A tall man, who held the Key around his neck..." The key-

He froze, jumping as he was pulled from the story. "The key- That must have been Shaadi!" Yugi cut in with a jolt, his eyes wide as Ishizu stared. "I met him just over a year ago," he explained nervously, "Before I knew about the other me... He tested him after triggering our switch, putting Anzu and the others in danger... After the other me 'passed'," the boy went on as he swallowed, "He promised to go on his way but... To think..."

Ishizu nodded, knowing just what Yugi was talking about. Her eyes had again grown misty in appearance, the woman looking away somewhat with a saddened expression. "Looking back," she began once more, "I wonder if what he said was more a warning than a threat... As we stood there he had said 'soon, the spirit of the Great and Nameless Pharaoh will awaken', and that as guardians to the tomb our fate from then on would be a tragedy that divided our blood completely... All for the pharaoh's sake," she trailed off, shaking her head. "But before we could ask what he meant he had vanished into the crowd, our time cut short and leaving us to run back to the desert in a panic. So we returned, hoping to make it safely inside before our father caught us... But at the side of the door," Ishizu whispered, gripping her arms tightly. "On the door," she repeated with a choke, shaking her head as still more tears fell, "There was a rig, a trip rope that had been released with the open door... As we had run along the caverns in the dark rather than using candles, we never noticed the string releasing the signal... And as we went to check on Rishid, praying that our father had yet to realize this, we found that he was no longer in his room, nor Malik's own... Instead," she went on, swallowing as she recounted the memory in panicked tones, "We found him in one of the main chambers... Whipped by the heated blade of the machete our father held, bleeding on the ground. He wasn't making a single sound," she cried, holding her head in one hand. "He was simply kneeling on the ground, taking as much as he could to prevent our father from hurting Malik... And it was then... It was then, as Rishid finally collapsed before us, and our father turned to deliver our own punishment, that it happened.

"Malik suddenly began to scream," she whispered, "Holding his head in pain before our father even touched him. His hair stood on end, and with a new voice, a fearsome and adult tone, the screams stopped... And he addressed our father with a maddening grin that froze even him in place. Before anyone could even think he had acted... He claimed the Millennium Rod from the side," Ishizu explained, "And within seconds took its power as his, accepted completely. He restrained our father on the wall with its power, and froze me in place at the door way, forcing me to watch what he did next... The fear in my father's eyes," the woman whispered in horror, Yugi as well listening with evident fear, "And the laughter that that person, that thing that replaced my sweet brother... He skinned him _alive!_ " she cried, voice taking a panicked tone as the woman forced herself to dredge up memories long locked away. "And he tore the entirety of the ritual carving from his corpse's back, dropping it on Rishid's unconscious form with such a grating, cackling sound! And even after this he turned on him, holding he blade in the rod high. But before he could kill him, Rishid's eyes opened," she explained, swallowing back her unease. "And the shadow controlling my brother was forced back, leaving him to wake and find his father dead at the side with his blood on his hands... He couldn't remember what he'd done," she cried, shaking her head. "Not a thing, not at all... And when that 'person', 'Shaadi' appeared at the side, telling him that it was the Pharaoh's arrival that drove our father into death, what else could he think? The source of the scars on his back, the exile and his father's death... They were so easy for him to group into one thing, so easy for a boy of his age to blame..." So then...

The reason Malik hated him, the reason for all of this happening... "I... Ishizu-san," he began, the woman before him choking as she leaned forward somewhat.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, shaking her head. "To see me like this... I'm normally quite composed, it's required that I be... You'll have to forgive me," Ishizu continued, shaking her head. "I still have to finish after all... Following what happened in the tombs you see, we had nothing to do but leave for the outside world; we could do nothing but be placed in the hands of Egypt's government," she explained, "And by that same government it looked as though we were going to be divided into the care of unknown families. Rishid after all had all of the remaining scars from our father's attack, and had been deemed as someone who would do well to be as separate from it all as possible... Malik had clear signs of mental trauma from the events, more so than anything I myself could hide. They couldn't keep us together, for our 'health'," she continued almost dully, closing her eyes. "So after realizing this, Malik and Rishid both fled the city on their own, hiding and learning in the shadows before eventually creating the ghouls. I myself was left in possession of the tauk, which when found in our underground home had been considered a family heirloom... And while I slowly came to know my 'new' family, I eventually came to realize just what duty I had to that item... That duty however," she told Yugi pulling the tauk from around her neck to hold it forward, "Ends here."

"End-" What! "But Ishizu-san," Yugi protested, watching as the woman placed the necklace on the table before him. "This... This is yours!" he shouted, eyes wide. "Why would... Why would you give this to..."

"The tauk no longer listens to my requests," Ishizu stated, gesturing to the necklace before her. "After Seto changed the future, altering my predictions," she explained, "I could see only light; a sight that remains unchanged." Light... Light seemed like a good thing, but when it blinded everything around them... "Yugi... I cannot save my brother," the woman told him, eyes filled with grief and misery as Yugi slowly took the necklace before him. "As consumed by this persona as he is," she continued sadly, "The most I can do is watch... But I have faith that somehow, some way, you will succeed," she told the boy, standing from her chair as Yugi did the same with the tauk in his grip. "And so I give you this message; of the remaining items," Ishizu explained, "You now need five in order to awaken the Pharaoh's past memory." Five others...

There were seven then, tauk, rod, eye, key, scales, ring, and his puzzle...

"It is ironic," the woman muttered calmly, staring to the side. "But as our duty to the pharaoh is to return these items to him, we would never have fulfilled our vows staying beneath the ground... So the messages I had been sure were filled with Malice were never... ..." Then, what Shaadi had meant by 'the will of the pharaoh'... Had simply referred to the fact that the Pharaoh had returned. So then all of this, it was his...

_-kotskots_

Yugi turned as knocking came through the air, looking up from the tauk before placing it carefully on the table and turning to Ishizu. "Ishizu-san... Thank you very much for telling me all of this," he told her, bowing his head as he walked toward the door with the woman. "Really! I'll look after this until the right time comes..." Until the time that his other self would regain his memories...

"I know you will," the woman responded, a slight smile coming in place before she moved to leave. "And until then," she continued calmly, "I wish you luck in all that you do... Now..." Ishizu opened the door, Anzu jumping from the door's entrance as the woman stepped out to leave. "Good night Pharaoh... Mazaki-san," she added, the girl in question watching as the Egyptian entered the room across the hall.

"Ah..." The woman slowly looked back, gesturing behind her. "What was Ishizu doing in..."

"Ahhhh... It... It's a long story," Yugi said with a swallow, glancing at the clock to the side before shaking his head. "You're tired though right? So then, we should sleep..."

Anzu appeared to flush at that, turning away somewhat awkwardly at the mention of sleeping. "Right," she muttered with a cough, "Sleep! So... Ah... ...Exactly how are we doing this again?"

"Erm..." In the end, Anzu had set up two chairs at the side, leaving the room to grab something she'd forgotten as Yugi buried his reddening face as deep into his pillow as possible.

* * *

This scar... Was definitely going to take some getting used to he told himself, tapping it with his free hand almost blankly before pulling it back with a wince. Katsuya swallowed as he stared in the mirror at the scar over his chest, shower momentarily forgotten as he dropped his shirt to the side. The scar that sat where Ra struck him was definitely something that would be difficult to explain in a change room. While it was only on the front rather than both sides thankfully, the three-clawed 'grasp' that seemed to more or less disfigure any bit of skin within it was very... Very...

Jarring. It looked almost like a burn, combined with some sort of blade induced scar, a mark that no matter what happened would never fade in any way. And it was for that reason that, as knocking abruptly sounded against his bedroom door, his shirt was hurriedly thrown on before he went to answer it. And as to who it was...

He paused momentarily, shaking off another flash before opening the door. Honda and Otogi. But what were they- "Oh yeah," he found himself muttering, looking at the two outside almost blankly. "You were gonna stay in my room..."

"Gh- You forgot?" Honda hissed as the two came in, the door quickly closing behind them while Katsuya smirked.

"Hey," he said with a grin, "I c'n always hope y' share w' Yugi can' I?"

"That's true," his second guest muttered with a stretch, "But as we said before, we don't want to bug him before tournament day... Especially with a maniac like Malik on board," he added, turning to the blond at the side. Oh, that made sense he suppose-

Waaaaiiit... "Bug Yug'- Oi..." Katsuya's smirk plummeted, a scowl coming on his face as he turned on the others. "O-Oiiii! I have jus' as much chance 'f facing tha' guy as he does!" he snarled, Honda rubbing his head. "Where's th' difference!"

Honda continued to shrug, awkwardly looking away as he thought of an excuse. "Welllllll..."

"Malik isn't likely to try and actively steal an ancient artifact from you and kill you in his spare time," Otogi said rather plainly, kicking his shoes off and hopping onto the bed on the other end of the room. "At least, I'm pretty sure of that," he added, leaning back against the pillow and nodding. Well...

That was true, he did show a fair bit of zeal in the idea of targeting Yugi but-

"Wai'... So you think Malik's gonna kill 'm... An' y' leave 'm alone in th' room?" Katsuya asked with an incredulous frown, the other two trading glances as Honda joined his friend on the bed.

"Ah- N-No," Honda shouted in protest, jacket hanging half on his arm as he panicked. "We just... Ah... We..."

"Ah..." It seemed Otogi was coming up with just as much in his defense really, as the teen was growing about as pale as his friend. Really...

Not to say that Yugi and the Other Yugi couldn't look after each other but...

The blond shook his head, heading into the bathroom again as he sighed. "Whatever," he shouted over the still running water, closing the door behind him to get ready for the shower again. "Jus' don' come in 'till I'm done, I don' wan' any temp'rture changes while 'm showerin'," he called out as an excuse, not looking forward to attempting to explain the new scar.

And fffffff-! Speaking of the scar, damn did it sting under the water!

...Not to mention steam...

The blond was pulled from his thoughts as Otogi shouted back in response, managing to focus on the shower rather than the scar again. "Got it!" the teen had called out, leaning back on the bed while Honda went to get the lights. "...Hey," he muttered, looking at the sides and end with a frown. "Is this bed... Bigger... Than the other ones?" he asked, his friend looking back with raised eyebrows as the bed was illuminated in moonlight.

"Uhhhhh... ...Yes?" the teen offered, Otogi frowning in response.

"Why the hell did he get a bigger bed," he muttered, somehow still within Katsuya's audible range. There was a small part of the blond was really tempted to say 'because Seto-chan probably figured you guys would invade my room!', but another part told him that she would have to actually care for that to happen.

Later however, when he settled atop the covers after having showered up and redressed for bed he found himself pondering the same thing his friends had. Because as his mind was telling him right now, the bed really was larger, by at least a foot in comparison to the double beds that the other competitors had...

A fact that he couldn't find any reason for Seto to have done, leaving him to fall asleep in confusion as his dog-tags gleamed in the light on his side.

* * *

As the timer on the translator slowly ticked away, the woman keeping an eye on it found herself running out of things to do. At half an hour she had long since made sure her deck was as ready as it could be for the up-coming 4-Person free for all that would decide the final matches. At forty-five minutes, she was pondering an odd e-mail she'd received from Gekkou Tenma concerning the current deal between their companies.

Which had somehow managed to center on his brother instead. (Like she gave a damn about him still not recovering from Pegasus' death, there were better ways to deal than fret about inferiority complexes...)

Either way, fifteen minutes later had her blowing a bit of hair from her face with a sigh. One hour down... And two to...

Go? "Oh for fucks sake," she found herself growling, watching as the translator's timer jumped up another hour. A part of her wondered if there was even any point in doing this; no matter what happened, looking at the card resulted in her understanding exactly what it said, despite all logic pointing to the fact that this was impossible. From the chant right down to the vague references to its ability, each point referencing 'sunrise', 'noon', and from what she could tell an 'eclipse'. Well...

Besides that issue with the vagueness of it all she decided, opening up a separate window, she at least knew to some extent what Ra's abilities were. So with that in mind if she could calculate her chances of Ra losing to her Virus-Dragon deck, estimating what the abilities were...

The computer screen flashed, fingers flying across the keyboard with ease as the necessary date was entered before the program itself was sent on its run. It took approximately two seconds to calculate her answer...

An answer that had her briefly wonder if she'd entered the numbers incorrectly. "Th... Thirteen percent," she muttered, staring at the screen in shock.

...

...Ugh...

The woman frowned, hands briefly hanging above the keyboard as she grumbled and cursed under her breath. Great... Even using Obelisk she had a hair-thin chance. Hell, after entering in the data for Osiris, with hopes that she would fight against Yugi first, she still only had fifteen percent! And if she was right about what the card said, there was a damn good reason for that...

Particularly with the 'second' ability, the 'eclipse'. "A one turn kill," she found herself muttering, eyes growing dull as she stared at the screens before her. Only one held any running programs within it by this point, leaving the others to occasionally flash as the card's image stared back. It was what the Sun Dragon was created to do after all, that was, 'wiping the field' of anything in sight. The three Gods had a number of things in common really; they each needed three sacrifices to be summoned, they were completely immune to traps, and be it malevolent or benevolent in intent, all spells lasted only one turn against them before being destroyed. But of the Gods abilities, Ra was the only one shrouded in mystery, the only one whose card bothered 'choosing' the worthy to read its cover.

The first one she had already seen, the one that came about from the very thing that set Ra apart from the others. Only those who knew the proper prayer on the card's image could summon it into existence after all, and only those who could read the ancient language dictating it would be able to do so. But these other two abilities...

Seto stared at the card on the side of the screen, jaw clenching as the screen continued to flicker intermittently. For Battle City monsters could not attack in the same turn they were special summoned or fused; it was an 'extra' rule she'd created, a rule to help 'balance' the advantage of there being no limit to special summons. The Gods however were immune to this, partly due to any spells that did so lasting only one turn; and if she was right about the 'second ability' that Ra's card depicted, it centered on Ra being special summoned from the grave with that in mind... Ordinarily of course, this would mean it held no attack power, no defense power... It would mean bringing up nothing but a figure head, a poor excuse for 'God'.

But this line here, 'offerings of life'...

The woman continued to stare for a moment, before a sharp pain ran through her head and she found herself back on the chair. "Nggh..." Migraine...

She hated migraines... Damn it...

This was just pointless she mentally roared, rubbing her head and gritting her teeth. She could read the card as though it were written completely in Japanese, but she still didn't know what it did! "Tch..." A screen to the side flashed, pulling Seto's attention from these thoughts as the woman moved to tap one of the keys at the side. Whatever was happening now, it had better be very, very-

She cut the thoughts short, staring at the screen for a moment before frowning.

...What in the hell...

Seto stood from the chair and moved to look at the second screen as a record of recent power-usage came up, a small warning appearing on the side as an over-ride was, ironically, 'overridden'. "The elevator was just used," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she looked over the records. And with that much power... "Someone just took the lift the arena..." ...But if they were going to the arena...

The woman abruptly stiffened with realization, tapping a number of keys as she pulled up the records of the competitors duel disks. Yugi's was off, Jonouchi's was off, Mai's, Rishid's, Ishizu's- Shit...

Shit! Malik still had his initial threat to act upon a small voice in the back of her mind reminded, and if he was doing that now, against some other opponent...

A growl grew in her throat as two disks glowed on the screen, their status clearly revealing that they had recently been activated. Malik was indeed one of the competitors... But the other...

"Bakura." Seto pushed another key down, not taking her eyes off the screen as she pulled up a duel-log.

As to how and why the albino had left his bed in the middle of a recovery to do something as idiotic as this, she hardly had the time to ponder that. For now, deal with the madman on the other end!

"...Kyouko," she said quickly as the 'PA' was activated, the on-duty guard waiting on the other end of the line as she continued. "Get two other members of security to the arena and use extreme caution when exiting the lift," she warned, her employee almost audibly 'freezing' as the woman went on. "Keep your weapons ready to fire," Seto ordered, "And if needed fire only at the cloaked duelist, understand? Malik's started another fight." And with the mention of 'Malik', there was never any arguing.

Despite what obvious confusion the former maid held with the mentions of the lift, Kyouko very quickly stated an affirmative for that very reason before the phone clicked off. In a few moments she would likely see the 'power-logs' pop up yet again. But until that time, with what was going on up at the field...

It was already two turns in according to the somewhat simplistic duel-log on the screen, with nothing particular remarkable going on as of yet. Bakura, who had taken the first turn and begun with one card face down had also summoned a 'Zombie Goblin'. Just a single turn later he defended the summoned beast from Malik's own monster 'Drillago' by means of the counter attack trap he'd activated. The trap 'Fearful Earthbound' was meant to take five hundred attack points each time the opponent attacked... But despite this play Bakura's first monster had been lost, Malik's own face down card destroying the trap in question before it could take effect.

As of now, Bakura had two new face down cards, the monster 'Gernia' standing in defense at his side while it moved to Malik's turn. The albino duelist now had 3500 points... Malik in the meantime, who had used 'Card of Sanctity' with little luck in drawing God as he had hoped, had 4000...

And as he continued with his turn he found himself subject to a bizarre yet completely understandable turn of action from his opponent. Bakura's first trap card had activated relatively quickly, with the card 'Dark Tutor' forcing Ra from Malik's deck and into his hands. Immediately thereafter the second card on the field was activated to reveal Bakura's intentions, 'Dragged into the Grave' pulling the blond's entire hand into his graveyard. After all...

It wasn't as though Bakura could see the card that Malik had set face down, not like the woman watching the screen now. Monster reborn would only last one turn true, and even then Ra would be powerless. And for that reason it should have worked. For despite Bakura sacrificing as many hundreds of points as the cards cast to the graveyard he technically had the upper hand on the field, quickly becoming the first to bring a powerful monster on his side as he set another card for his turn. And as Bakura made yet another sacrifice of points with the monster's summoning, he activated the creature's effect.

In mere seconds the field was swarmed, three more monsters coming to the field. Headless Knight, another Gernia, even Necrofear who would ordinarily need three monsters removed from play... And yet Seto couldn't help but narrow her eyes, staring at the screen with a frown.

There was no way that it could be over that quick after all, and when Malik drew his next card she was proven correct. The card Monster Reborn activated that moment and pulled Ra from the grave for one turn, one turn only before earlier ponderings of the second ability also revealed themselves.

"Offering's of life," she muttered almost incredulously, watching as the God's attack rose to exactly 3,999 points before Bakura was attacked. Malik's lifepoints had become a single lifepoint, the Egyptian having added all he had to spare in order to attack. It was over-kill... But it worked.

And that was it...

"The second ability..." By sacrificing their own lifepoints, the wielder of Ra could increase the God's attack for each one, turning the tides in an instant. Bakura had lost... And moments later, the woman found her blood running deathly cold as Kyouko called back from her task.

" _Kaiba-sama,_ " the woman said clearly, voice tight and clearly hesitant. " _As requested, we moved to the arena to apprehend Ishtar and Bakura, however..._ "

"However?" she repeated, eyes narrowing as the power log briefly came over the screen.

" _Kaiba-sama... Bakura Ryou was not there. More importantly,_ " she continued, " _He is no where to be found aboard this ship, and upon encountering Malik, one of the others noticed that he was in possession of an item nearly identical to the 'ring' that other passengers described as being missing from Bakura's possession. ...Kaiba-sama,_ " the woman went on with a fearful tone, her employer growing just as pale, " _We no longer have any reason to take Malik out of the tournament let alone some form of custody... We never made a rule against coming to the arena, the elevators were locked! And if we stay here any longer..._ "

One word came to mind as the guards were carefully told to leave Malik as he was and flee the deck, the Egyptian left to do whatever it was he planned to from the top of the airship.

...Shit.

* * *

It was said that among close family and friends one could always tell when something was wrong. A feeling would perhaps occur, or an inexplicable change in emotions in stark contrast to the current situation. And as Ishizu woke up, the woman's eyes tearing open in a violent jolt, that inexplicable emotion was by far that of fear.

Ishizu sat up with rapid breaths, momentarily struggling to calm herself as she looked about the room. At the side her guest, 'Ryuzaki', was still largely asleep, having formed a makeshift pillow using his bag and jacket on the chairs. Other than the sound of light breathing in fact, there was no other noise... No other reason for the fear she held at the moment, nor the sensation of suspicion that hovered in the room. Despite this however she could not throw off the feeling that something was terribly wrong, and with that in mind she found herself getting out of the bed and walking toward the door in silence. Someone...

Someone was there she told herself, staring at the door and swallowing as she reached for the button to open it. She knew somehow that someone was there... It was just a feeling and not a fact of course- the tauk's power had long since passed on after all, and until seconds prior she had probably had the best sleep since many years ago. At least until those last few moments, when the mood had abruptly switched to despair and fear.

As she opened the door to see Anzu, she couldn't help but tell herself that she'd been expecting someone else, a large feeling of suspicion and unease coming over her. "...Mazaki-san?" she asked politely, the woman's expression clearly fearful despite the 'blankness'. "What are you doing here?"

The feeling of unease increased considerably as Anzu opened her mouth however, her head bowed as the woman shook. " _U-Ukht_ ," she uttered in clear arabic, no accent visible on her tone. "Sister... I need help," she told Ishizu with a swallow, "I need to save Rishid... But I'm... I'm stuck..." St-Stu...

This was...

"Malik?!" she hissed in shock, staring as the girl before her trembled. She didn't know how, or why but... "How... How is this possible?" she asked, holding the language they had started in should her 'roommate' awaken to hear them both. "How can you be possessing this girl- No... _Why_ are you possessing her?" she pressed, 'Malik' merely continuing to shake.

"I... I wanted to know more about her friend, the blond," 'he' said with a swallow, shifting uncomfortably. "I wanted to know how he'd beaten the control of the rod, about what he was seeing! But then Rishid passed out," Malik continued with a shudder, "And for some reason, I found myself here, with a darker me taking my place... _Ukht_... Ishizu," he pressed, tears running down the sides of Anzu's cheeks, "I can't let him kill him! I tried to stop him on my own... But it wasn't enough, and I failed my only chance at getting my body back! Ishizu... I need... I need..." This...

Ishizu stared for a few moments, watching as mannerisms reminiscent of her brother from before the current times came from Anzu's body. This was...

"Malik," the woman whispered, looking over the woman he possessed before nodding. "I'll help you. Just lead the way," she continued lowly, "We'll hide him in my room for now."

"Ah..." 'Malik' appeared to pause for a moment, before loosening somewhat in relief. "Thank you... Thank you, Ishizu..."

The body hurriedly rushed toward the room beside 'his' sister's, placing a hand on the side and glancing down the hall nervously.

"The door is unlocked," Malik was muttering, sliding it open with slight ease. "That 'other' me shouldn't be here for a few moments with the staff questioning him, so we have time," he continued, stepping inside. Ishizu nodded, hurrying into the room behind the possessor and his 'body'.

"So long as he doesn't catch us," she said quietly, turning on the light as they walked in. "That's the last thing we nee- Gnh!"

The woman froze, choking on her words as she looked at the shadow that was now illuminated by the room. Before in the darkness it had been just out of the light of the window, indiscernible and even undetectable. But with the lights on it occurred to her that just earlier there had been an order for staff to watch over the victims of the tournament.

An order that had made it easy for Malik to take his 'pay'. "Good God..."

"The doctor... The doctor," Malik uttered with swallows, staring at the corpse on the ground. In the darkness with Bakura he hadn't seen the body- only a lump of shadows that the albino had looked at oddly before waiting for the darker persona. Looking now however there were bruises lining the man's neck almost like a necklace, his back torn completely to shreds for what ever reason other than 'just because'. Death had been slow and painful, with his throat too damaged to scream and his back left to bleed out over the time of the final two duels.

"How long do you think he's been dead?" Malik muttered quietly, Ishizu holding silent. Dead...

Someone on this ship was already dead...

As the two looked back toward Rishid, the man still thankfully breathing, they quickly cut their thoughts short. They had to act fast after all, and they had no time to think about what had already happened...

Otherwise they'd be next.

* * *

He kind of figured that he'd be dreaming again, after all that happened through the evening. Between explaining half of his ability to a 'stranger' and witnessing the shadow game between Malik and Mai, there'd been a lot going on. Despite how late it was and how strung up he'd gotten as a result, sleep had come easily. Sure, the bed was crowded as heck (did they all seriously have to share?), but nonetheless as he walked about the darkness of the dreams he had admittedly and uncomfortably gotten used to, he had to shrug everything off of his mind and simply continue on. Besides...

"Compared t' everything else," he muttered aloud, footsteps sounding through the darkness, "Th's 's a vacation..." A nice break from all the terror and- "Ah..." Katsuya paused, blinking as some sort of light caught his eye in the distance. "You..." That light, could it be...

The light seemed to increase, taking humanoid shape as he came close. Hah!

It was! "Hey! 'Ghost guy'!" he called out as he ran toward it with a grin. "Nice seein' y' again!"

The spirit in question appeared to tense as he looked back to the blond, a scowl appearing on its otherwise blank face. " _Gh- 'Ghost guy'?!_ " it repeated incredulously, watching as the blond came to a stop in front of him. " _Really_ ," it muttered lowly, " _If you don't know who I am, then don't bother making nicknames!_ "

Katsuya jumped somewhat, before slowly nodding his head. Sheesh, what was his problem... He was a hell of a lot nicer in their last encounter. "Alrigh'," he muttered, scratching his head, "Whatever y' say..."

Silence settled between the pair, and as the blond continued to stare the ghost sighed. Despite having little to reveal any emotions it appeared the spirit was uneasy for the moment, the ghost looking around the darkness with a frown. " _Just how on earth did I end up here any ways?_ " it muttered, narrowing his eyes. " _I should be sitting among a horde of rage-filled monsters and spirits right now,"_ it continued almost suspiciously, " _Not chatting it up in the back of your mind..._ " Errr...

Katsuya raised his eyebrows, mentally choking on his words as he ran over what the ghost had just said. Rage filled monsters and ghosts? That sounded... Cheery. Erm... "Hey... Not t' say tha' I'm really pushin' for y' t' do that or anythin'," he muttered, "But how th' hell would I know what yer doin' in my head?"

If this even was his head he added mentally, the ghost turning back to stare rather blankly in response. " _There was once a time where you knew many things_ ," it stated almost blandly, blinking as it hovered in place and continued on. " _When you told stories of the great monsters 'Ziz', and of the realms far beyond... I suppose you can't remember that though_ ," it continued, the blond before him frowning somewhat. " _Let alone anything else from those times_."

No... No not really. "I guess not," he muttered, looking away as a small voice in his mind wondered what 'those times' even were. "Not sure 'f tha's bad 'r not really..." He supposed he'd have to find out on his own.

" _Yes... Well..._ " The ghost looked back around the darkness, still frowning as it crossed his arms. " _This changes nothing about my current predicament. It seems as though rather than being locked away in the other realms as penalty_ ," he continued confusedly, " _I'm back within your mind... How curious. I wonder what this means for-_ "

"Er... What 'xactly are y' talkin' about?" Katsuya asked, tilting his head somewhat as the spirit turned.

" _Hn?_ " The spirit stared, before shaking its head and shrugging somewhat. " _Oh... It's nothing_ ," it said plainly, turning back to the darkness just briefly. " _Nothing at all..._ " 'Nothing' eh?

Riiiiiiight... "'Kay... ...You gonna tell me exactly who y' are?" he asked, the spirit not moving save to snort at the request.

" _I already told you_ ," the ghost muttered, "'Someone you once knew'... _If you can't figure it out from there_ ," it went on, " _Then I have no right in telling you_."

Gee thanks, he thought, mentally narrowing his eyes as the ghost went on.

" _Quite frankly_ ," the spirit growled almost bitterly, " _I'm not even sure why I did even that. It's very unlike me_ ," it stated, " _Revealing things like that. ...If you'll excuse me for now though_ ," the spirit continued, turning away from his 'friend' and bringing his arms to his sides, " _I have someone I need to kill._ " Someone he needed to-

"Tch... Great! I go t' sleep, an' th' first thing I get is a ghost with a clamped mouth an' a vendetta..." And here he'd though things would be 'normal' for once...

Damn it.

"Man... I don' ev'n like ghosts," he growled, the ghost before him chuckling in response.

" _That's expected; you were always a superstitious person... Disliking whatever you don't understand is typical of you,_ " it explained with a 'smirk', " _Though you were admittedly more accepting in my time..._ " His ti-

Again with the 'times'! Seriously! "Jus' what time is tha' exactly?" he snarled, shouting at the ghost as it stared. "Seriously! What's th' point in goin' on abou' this if y' won' explain!" he continued angrily.

The spirit blinked, eventually shaking its head as it moved toward the blond and sighed. " _Believe me when I say it's only to keep you from losing your head... Though I have to say, had we been anywhere else I likely would have done that. It's strange_ ," it continued, shaking its head and looking to the side oddly. " _But sitting here in the back of your mind, I can think with more clarity than I have in a number of millennia... Perhaps I'll stay here for a while,_ " it decided quietly, " _And sort out a few memories of mine. But first,_ " it told him, before lightly tapping Katsuya's brow. " _...How about you get some sleep, 'Merea'?_ "

"Sleep?" he repeated somewhat dully, tilting his head. "But I thought I was already-" Without another word he found his thoughts cut short, vision blacking out as he collapsed to the ground. Oh...

That was what he meant.

Sleep...

. . .

* * *

To say he was confused when he woke up to find Ishizu's bed completely empty was putting it lightly. It wasn't too bad though, as for the moment he could pass it off as the woman maybe using the washroom. Reaaaaally quietly. Like...

With no sound coming from the sink.

At all. Yeaaaaah... That had to be it. Even so as Keiichi pulled out his phone to check the time (2 AM? REALLY?), he found himself suspicious of where the woman had gone. After all, there was a maniac on the ship; and that maniac had probably been looking forward to having guests he told himself with a shudder, before quickly being pulled from those thoughts as the door opened.

The light came on in an instant as the boy hissed, shielding his eyes from the drastic change before watching both Ishizu and Anzu hurry in with a body in their arms. "W-What the he-" Rishid? What were they doing with Rishi-

"A little help would be nice," Anzu growled from the side, the body almost dropped upon the bed as the boy hurried to help lay the man out properly.

"A-Ah... S-Sure," the boy muttered, watching as Ishizu left to shut the door. Rishid's unconscious body was effectively dead weight between the two, and moving so much as an arm proved awkward as they straightened him out. Rishid was being taken to this room but... "...Mazaki, what's going on?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Malik," the woman answered plainly, voice seeming to slip into a slight accent of sorts as she spoke.

"As it turns out," she continued with a flat tone, "He's already taken his first victim." His...

His first vict- Keiichi paled, shaking himself as he stared. No way... There was no way, they'd have to have known about something like that, so how? "The first victim... Who died?" he asked almost hesitantly, swallowing a wave of unease. "Was it someone I-"

"Seto's first doctor," Ishizu answered as she flicked off the light, returning to the bedside to look down at Rishid's body worriedly. "He was dead when we found him," she continued, "And likely for a while..." H...Hah...

"Oh hell..." As if the room issue hadn't been pressing enough... "What did I get myself into now," the boy muttered to himself, the others holding slight frowns as Ishizu lightly and carefully checked over Rishid's vitals.

"There's nothing you could have done," she said plainly, turning back to the boy with a frown. "After all," she went on, "I doubt even Malik predicted that he would succumb to mental illness..." Hahaha...

That was one way to put 'going bat-shit insane' to words! Keiichi shook himself again, attempting to calm down as he held his head. "Great," the boy muttered. "That's just great... ...This guy isn't going to try and kill us all right?" he asked, before a sudden jolt tore at the ship. "G-OH!"

The boy toppled forward as the others collapsed themselves, hitting the floor and groaning while the two others slowly steadied themselves. Ow ow ow...

"Ghn... Mal- Mazaki-san," Ishizu muttered, pulling herself up with a wince. "Do you think that was..."

"No," the woman hurriedly answered, shaking her head as dulled eyes looked around the room. "That was... ...Wait here," she said seriously, heading for the door with a nod. "I'll go see what's wrong, just don't open the door!” the woman shouted, running into the hall and tapping the button on the side. "No matter what!" No matter wh-

The door closed over, leaving the two in darkness as they stood at Rishid's side. "Um... What?" he asked, blinking as he was answered with a shrug and awkward silence. It was official.

Jonouchi's friends were all completely crazy, and if he valued his life he would have to make sure he never went to Tokyo again.

* * *

Sometimes he really cursed his luck. Mostly when it came to duel monsters it seemed, given his habit of making crappy draws, but there were plenty of more serious points where he wanted to strangle whoever was sitting in the heavens. Somehow he'd managed to get a fair amount of sleep after the ghost 'zapped' him as he called it, which was pretty great.

But opening his eyes to see a sea of lava before him after what felt like mere seconds, with nothing but the five meter wide rock he currently stood on for protection from the elements was really not in any way a good thing.

At all. "Damn it... Where th' hell 'm I this time?" he muttered, childish laughter coming from behind to jar the blond from his thoughts.

"Not in Kansas, that's for sure," a familiar voice stated, Katsuya biting his lip in response as he took in a deep breath. Ohhhh no...

Oh no no no... After all that time, please tell him that it was not...

_That dog_.

Katsuya blinked as he turned to spot the source of the voice, which in question was not a dog but in fact a small boy holding one. In fact the boy (definitely a boy his mind told him) looked eerily familiar to Seto to say the least- the jacket appeared tailored in almost the same fashion of the woman's own 'death-T' version, with a pair of matching white pants to cement the image in place. Even his eyes, a startling blue seemed to mirror Seto's own, had Katsuya narrowing his gaze as the boy stared at him.

"You..." The blond's eyes briefly drifted to the puppy in the boy's arm, the dog's head covered in the same bizarre 'bondage' helm he'd seen in the VR game. "...Who are you?"

The boy merely smirked in response to the question, placing the dog on the ground as his form appeared to shift. As his body grew and stretched with age, becoming taller and more mature until he finally stood a full foot above the blond. "Me? I think you know exactly who I am," the young man chuckled, his jacket loosely held over his shoulder rather than being worn properly. At this point the resemblance between himself and Seto was more than uncanny, the only real contrast being the masculine features of his face and the far lighter shade of hair.

Though the expression that he held was far from similar, it would still be far from a long shot to mistake the two for siblings. It was only then that he recalled an old conversation however, his eyes widening with realization...

A conversation about someone who had this kind of resemblance, someone who died young rather than living to the age of the man he saw before him.

Someone who was supposed to look like this now.

"Noa," he muttered, the chuckling growing louder as it picked up once again from before him. "Yer... Noa, aren't y'?" he found himself asking, only to pale as the image shifted.

The body shrank, slimmed, and hair stood on end before the blond found mirror image of his own best friend staring forward. 'Yugi's body, still bearing the same colours and tones of 'Noa' seemed to continue smirking, stepping toward the blond while he fiddled with a lock of hair. "I could be... But I can be _anyone_ ," he responded, pacing around the blond as Katsuya swallowed. "I could be your friend," he began, before shifting again as hair succumbed to gravity, "I could be a 'brother'," he continued, now resembling an off-coloured Mokuba.

And yet again the body shifted from behind the blond, gaining height and losing hair as the pitch in the chuckling altered completely.

"I could even be her," the 'man' whispered, the low and oddly husky tones coming from what his mind told him were Seto's lips. The blond slowly turned as the 'woman' smirked, her outfit having shifted to a more feminine version of the suit 'she'd worn as the past forms. "I could be anyone you want," 'Noa' muttered, fingers trailing over Katsuya's shoulder as the blond shuddered, "And you could _have_ anything you want, you could have 'this'... Really have it," 'she' continued, the outfit slimming down completely as Katsuya gave a nervous swallow. "And all you have to do," Noa went on, coming dangerously close to the blond, "Is let me take her place..."

"T-Take..." Katsuya froze, struggling to back away from the 'woman' as he swallowed. "What th' hell are you-"

_-BRAM!_

A sudden jolt ripped him violently from the dream, the blond toppling to the ground from the bed with a wince. "Nggh... Agggh... What th' hell..?" What was that, an earthqua-

...Wait, they were in the skies.

He pulled himself up, shaking his head and looking around the room with a frown. "What was tha'?" he muttered, before quiet sleep talking pulled his attention's back to the bed.

"Hnnnn... Shizuka~"

"Shizuka-chan~" Oi oi oiiii...

Katsuya's expression quickly shifted to rage, the teen standing over the bed where his friends were muttering in their sleep. "Oii! Just what d' you two think yer dreamin' abou'!" he roared, the two not waking up as smiles remained on their faces. "Get U- GLK!"

- _BRAM!_

Another jolt shuddered through the airship, the blond toppling forward to land atop the pair as they both jerked awake. "Gh-!"

"Wh- Jonouchi!" Otogi muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Ow," Hona hissed, "What the hell-"

"Tch- Not now," Katsuya found himself muttering with a growl, pulling himself up from the bed with a wince. Owwww...

And here his middle had started to feel better he told himself, rubbing his stomach somewhat as he cursed under his breath. Yet another shudder passed through the ship as rumbling hit the air, Katsuya barely catching himself against the wall as he headed for the door.

"Somethin's goin' wrong with th' ship," he growled, turning back to the others.

"Gee, yah think?" Honda muttered with a grunt, Otogi and himself both attempting to follow behind their friend.

"Gh- Shut up!" Katsuya opened the door, gripping the frame for support from the continuing shudders before looking into the hall. Lights were still out completely, a line of 'emergency' ones lining the hall dully. At the moment a few of the other doors had opened, Yugi's in particular doing so as the boy looked around confusedly. "Damn it... What th' hell's goin' on!" he shouted, Mokuba running past the doors from the stairs to briefly pause and answer.

"The ship's gone off course; it's hitting the ocean!" he shouted in panic, looking back at the boys as others came out from their rooms to pale. "Come on," the boy continued as he ran, "We can talk on the bridge- Nii-sama's already gone to figure out why the ship's malfunctioning!"

"Th' bridge?" Katsuya repeated, narrowing his eyes as he stared. "What th' hell is-"

"It's the 'command room' of the ship," Otogi shouted, running past the others as he threw his vest on. "Just go! If this thing gets too far under we're dead!"

"R-Righ'!"

The bridge in question was directly down the hall from the lift, separated from the ship by large doors without a label. Running down into the hall they were quickly joined by a few others, Anzu leaving Ishizu's room for whatever reason, followed by Shizuka from Mai's own and the two Yugis from outside their own. Staff were running back and forth through the halls through all of this, and as the large door to the bridge opened they were greeted with only slightly less chaos in the place of a small bit of extra stability, their own worried conversations held short in the face of what was going on. The bridge in question wasn't that big; after all, it didn't really take too much to steer an airship in comparison to a plane and if anything, it didn't take as many controls and screens to drive one in the first place.

Still, as the pilot frantically checked with as many systems as possible, it was fairly evident even from behind that Seto was not pleased. "I'm going to say again," she growled, water visibly splashing against the ship as it attempted to dive in a suicidal turn, the view from the window barely illuminated by the first light of dawn. "Get this thing under control NOW!" the woman roared, standing behind her pilot's chair with narrowed eyes.

"We've tried all we can," the pilot shouted in response, clearly panicked enough without his boss breathing down his neck. "There's just... Nothing we can do! No matter what," he continued with wide eyes, "All the controls have been locked, navigation systems completely destroyed... We're dead in the water," he went on, "Even the manual override won't go through!" The pilot tensed as he was roughly pushed from the seat in response to excuses, his employer growling under her breath as she pushed the chair back as well. "Gh- Kaiba-sama!"

"Keep the peanut gallery from interfering," she muttered, the group tensing at the comment. "And try to re-establish connection with 'Alcatraz' in the meantime," the woman added, the pilot hurriedly nodding and rushing to the computers near the front.

"P-Peanut gallery!" Honda shouted incredulously. "Since when were we a peanut gallery!" his friend muttered, Shizuka merely narrowing her eyes and tilting her head in confusion.

"...Alcatraz?" she asked, turning to the side. "Wasn't that a high security prison in the USA?"

Mokuba nodded at the last comment, a few of the others staring as Seto attempted to take the controls into her own hands. From what he could tell, the woman was about to hot-wire her own ship... However that worked. The boy beside them pointed out through the window, the others following his gesture as a tower became visible in the distance. "That's right... Alcatraz was the name of a prison, but it's also what Nii-sama calls an artificial island that Gozaburo built... When Seto-niisama took over," he explained somewhat quietly as the others stared, "He had the factories and buildings on-site destroyed, leaving nothing but rubble where Gozaburo's 'empire' once stood... In its place," he continued, "He built that tower you see in the distance now..." A tower that looking closely, had a bizarre resemblance to Sauron's tower...

Weird.

As the others stared Mokuba seemed to shift uncomfortably, rubbing his arm. "That was back before 'Death-T'," he told the others, shaking his head. "Back when nii-sama wasn't himself. So even as a 'duel tower', any memories tied to that place aren't something we like to... Gnh!"

Another shudder passed through the ship, before the sounds of sparks came into the air from the front. The nose of the airship veered violently upward as the screens to the front flickered to life, the pilot turning from the suddenly revealed statistics and scans of the ship with wide eyes. "K-Kaiba-sama, we have a-"

"Got it," the woman muttered, pulling up from the bottom of the control's stand to grab at the stick in the center. "Now, to get out of here!" As Seto pulled roughly at the stick the ship began to raise from the water, turning as the seas struck against the sides. In a sudden flash he could see some sort of building beneath the ocean... Mammoth in size, with an entrance hidden far beneath the waves. Almost 'ship like' in appearance, with a top that only barely sat beneath the waters.

Not that he was saying anything about that as Seto took the controls back into her hands, taking a seat as she steered back toward Alcatraz.

"Pallas!" she called out to the pilot, the man in question typing frantically at the front. "Are we connected to the building yet?"

From ahead at the computers 'Pallas' seemed to pale, slowly turning back with a swallow. "Ahhhh... We were," he said nervously, before an angry and hissing spark had Seto pulling back from her own cross-wired controls. "Gh-"

Smoke rose from the center of the control stand, the woman hurriedly pulling away with wide eyes. "...Tch... Then get the failsafes up to block whoever is cutting us off, before they pull us down again!"

"Hey wait!" Mokuba shouted with a swallow, those up front briefly turning back. "How is this guy even hacking into these systems? I thought we had an automated defense system!"

"Another thing that we did have," Pallas responded from the computer, "But as you can see," he continued, "We've been completely run over, and-"

_-BROUM!-_

A loud thundering boom came through the air as the ship again collided with the water, Katsuya gritting his teeth as he looked forward. "An' what!" he shouted, "You tellin' us we're gonna jus' drown!"

"Wait, we're going to die?" Honda added incredulously, the airship tilting to the side as they grabbed at the railings. "That's it?"

"Not if I can help it!" Seto snarled, watching as the screens ahead began to flash violently. Again she stormed toward the controls, peering at wires and taking a glance at the screens. "Just who are these people..!" Ahhh...

'People'? " _Hnhnhnhnhn... I believe you mean 'Person',_ " a chuckling voice answered, the screens flashing out into nothing but static as the ship rose up from the seas again. Though the screens remained blank Katsuya easily identified the voice in his mind, his face growing pale as the airship veered completely off course and to the side of the distant island. No way... No way in hell could it be-

"We're being hacked by a kid!?" Honda shouted in protest, Mokuba looking up with a jolt as the teen stared. "I mean, I would understand someone like you," he added to the boy, "But... Well no offense..."

"None taken," the boy muttered as he looked back to the screens, "I'm just as confused..."

While most of the crowd were wondering what was going on Seto took no time to ponder the 'age' of the speaker. Now that the attacker had revealed himself after all she had far more important things to deal with, things that held a permanent scowl across her face as the woman moved from around the 'wheel' of the ship to glare at the screens. "Just who the hell are you?" she snarled, fists clenched as she looked toward the large screen above them. "And where do you get the right to hack into this ship and pull us off course?"

More chuckling filled the air, Katsuya staring as the screens flashed violently. White, black, white, black... In an instant the flash settled to reveal an image, the blond paling as the person from his most recent dream came into view. Across the screen was a young boy to match the voice, light hair brushed in a style nearly identical to Seto's own as similarly coloured eyes stared toward them. A clear smirk was on the boy's face, and as it darkened into a sneer a majority of the crowd briefly fell silent with shock.

"He... He looks just like nii-sama at that age," Mokuba whispered with horror, the others staring as their apparent captor grinned. "How... How is that even..."

" _Hnhnhnhnhnhn... Welcome,_ " the boy said with a grin, holding his hand out in a gesture to match his words. " _To answer your question dear 'Seto', my name is Noa... The one who preceded your very existence, and therefore, surpasses your own._ " There was something to be said about being hacked by a ghost Katsuya told himself as the crowd stared either in shock or incredulity. It never meant anything good.

Particularly when something ahead of them was opening beneath the seas to pull them in at the same moment.


	2. Press Start To Begin

In the slowly arriving dawn the day following the tournament preliminaries, most of Japan had yet to awaken- particularly those who had participated in the intense matches that had filled the city. At a head-ache inducing 5 AM after all most would simply be rolling over in their covers, if there was movement at all within the curtain enclosed bedrooms. Sunlight was only just cracking over the edges of the horizon, peaking through the windows...

A wondrous sight that only the earliest of waking people could see in the coming dawn, along with a few stranded train-goers angrily mashing the buttons of their cell phone. But for the moment that beautiful sight was blocked by vicious waves, and ruined by the screams of those inside the Battle City's airship as it came toward an opening 'hole' in the oceans below. The ringing phone of one of the passengers was ignored in lieu of the chaos around, those inside either grabbing at railings or furniture for support. Though at the moment despite the screams, it was still Seto's voice that was the most apparent, no matter how loud those passengers had gotten. After all...

Noa had just claimed superiority. The woman had already become enraged enough at the failed 'manual' manual override. Tiny but otherwise unnoticeable burns were covering Seto's fingers as a result of having to manually instill the command by means of wire crossing, and the fact that even this had been pushed to the side was almost completely unbelievable. To add a personal pet-peeve to the list of issues however...

Well, even someone who knew Seto in passing would know that this was a fatal mistake. "You... You dare to joke at a time like this!" the woman snarled in response to the claim, leering at the screen above.

Noa merely continued smirking with amusement, the hole below opening its doors wide to allow the airship within what ever chamber it held. "I never said I was joking Seto. Why would I after all, I have no reason to," he stated, chuckling as the window's view went black. The seas continued to rage as the boy chuckled, lapping at the sides of the enormous entry-way as the others stared. "I merely wanted to invite you to my home," Noa told them, a few questions of the sort of 'home' it was coming to mind as they came in. "To the place I have lived for the past eight years... Waiting..." Eight...

That was how long it had been since Noa died though Katsuya told himself, which meant...

The blond grit his teeth, clenching the railing as panicked cries erupted about them. ' _We're being pulled in,_ ' obvious shouts announced, ' _What's going on! Let us out!_ ' This wasn't good...

This wasn't good at all, he was a little more accepting of weird stuff by now but if this was really Noa... Katsuya continued to tense as Yugi looked at him from the side, bowing his head somewhat as they continued to dive forward.

"...Jounouchi-kun," he said quietly, his friend not turning as the airship righted itself for landing. "You don't seem very surprised about what's happening..." Well... Besides the fact that he tended to get previews of this kind of thing now...

"I try not t' question things any more," he muttered, before swallowing as the ship docked into place. Blinding lights clicked on before the windows, a small number of the group wincing at the change in lighting as they were closed in.

"Ah... It looks like we're here," Noa said with a smile, narrowing his eyes as the group before him snarled and leered in response. "That means I can let you off now," he continued on in the resulting silence. "Of course, by 'you' I refer only to the duelists, particularly the long awaited Seto," the boy added, eyes appearing to flash with anticipation as he looked to the woman. "I'm not rude though... So if you could please heed by my request, I'll try not to impose the invitation."

Seto looked about ready to pull the screen off the ceiling and smash it into pieces at the thought of taking an 'invitation' from the boy before her. Or even just because the boy was there. "Gh... And what if we refuse?" she asked bluntly, the boy on the screen appearing to frown somewhat in response.

"Well," he muttered, a series of turrets moving out from panels inside the wall across from them to pointing their guns forward in answer. "You don't have a choice in that matter... Should you refuse," the boy continued lowly, "I'll have to exact force... And we don't want that," Noa warned, the woman before him continuing to growl. "I'll say again... I would much rather not impose this upon you, but should you not come inside, I will have no choice," he stated, the screen growing black again as he left his last words hanging dangerously on the air. "Three minutes," he told them, the voice appearing to originate from outside the craft. "I'm watching you..."

Silence sat over the crowd as the warning was given, those at the back end of the bridge staring at the turrets incredulously. "Is... Is he serious?" Honda muttered, eyes wide as he turned back from the window with wide eyes. "Half the competitors are in _comas_ ," he hissed, "How the hell are we supposed to-"

The teen cut off as Seto moved past, coat billowing behind her as she stormed up the steps. Rage was beginning to look like the mood of the day as she moved, and for the moment there were none who really planned to argue with her leaving. Well...

Almost no one. "Ah- Kaiba-san!" Yugi called out, the woman not even glancing back as the group turned. "What are you-"

"His target is me," she said plainly, punching in the keys to re-open the door before watching them pull back to the dark hallway. "Until I find out what's going on," the woman continued with a scowl, "Each of you are going to be staying on board, with the doors locked completely and-" The woman froze as Mokuba walked past into the hall, tensing as the boy paused to look back. "Gh- Mokuba!"

"Hey, Noa said 'all duelists'," he told her with a shrug, a smirk on his face. "If we're missing three, then I'm coming to keep the image up! Like you said, no casualties, right nii-sama?"

Oooh, nice excuse there... Too bad Seto wasn't buying it. "Tch... You're staying here, where it's safe," she growled, narrowing her eyes. "And that's final!"

"Hn!" Katsuya snorted, joining the boy in the hall and looking back. He wasn't saying anything, but when Seto was trying to be angry at Mokuba, she actually looked pretty cute. Not like when she was pissed at everyone else. You were supposed to run when that happened. The blond continued to smirk despite those thoughts coming to mind, hands stowed in his pockets as he spoke. "Y' might be able t' tell Mokuba what t' do," he told the woman, "But don' think that I ain't comin' along myself," he finished, Seto merely continuing to scowl.

"That's right," Yugi added seriously, moving to join the two as the others began to follow. "Noa asked for the duelists... And both Jonouchi-kun and I count as two of those, but if you go alone I doubt he'll be happy about it."

"And I told you before," she growled, looking to Yugi specifically. "I don't negotiate with people who make threats on my brother or staff; I'm leaving the ship alone," she pressed, "And the rest of you are staying-"

-click-

- _BRINBRINBRINBRINBRINBRI_

With a sudden shattering 'boom' and 'clink' that repeated nearly endlessly the crowd jumped or ducked for cover, the turrets abruptly beginning to fire at the ground before the airship. Bullets ricocheted off concrete and steel both, embedding themselves into the ground or simply clattering to a stop. For the most part despite all damage the chaos erupted in an instant, with aggravated shouts and wide-eyed stares filling the room.

"Aahhhh-ahhhh-aaaahhhHH! What the hell!" Honda shouted loudly from behind the bridge railing, "He's actually firing at us!"

"We NOTICED!" Otogi angrily called out in response, those by the door turning as Noa's voice echoed through the speakers once more.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," he announced, the turrets pausing in their attack to readjust their aim to a more vital point. "I said all of you... All those at the back of this Bridge room," he continued in clarification, "Are to get off and follow my instructions. Unless you plan to test your windows for bullet resistance," Noa added questioningly, the target of his words gritting her teeth as the sound of re-loading turrets caught her attention. Well...

Given how much of an option they had left... "Tch..." Seto continued to tense, before forcing out her next words with obvious distaste and gesturing to the hall. "Everyone off the ship," she growled, the others trading somewhat nervous looks in response to the woman's own. "Unless you plan on getting shot," she added darkly, all others responding fairly quick after that. After all- call him crazy but he had a feeling that no one would really want that happening too soon.

The crowd headed out into the hall as quickly as possible while Seto made her way toward the door, the pilot momentarily remaining behind to send a message through his radio. "Well... I guess we don't have much choice," Anzu muttered, swallowing as Katsuya turned to glance at her. "Given the current situation..." Her eyes were still clouded over he noticed, a slight frown on his face as the group stopped outside the door. Did that mean it was Malik speaking, and that Anzu was still 'asleep'? Why would he bother with that?

"Noa said 'duelists' didn't he?" Shizuka muttered, watching as Seto tapped a few buttons on the side to activate the ship's exit. The door before them fell forward in an instant, stairs unfolding from within as they touched the ground. Walking out from the airship unease clung to the group like a thick fog, leaving a majority of them to follow those ahead in hesitant silence. "If... If Noa only wants duelists," his sister was saying again, rubbing her arms somewhat. "Then..."

"It's like Anzu said," Mokuba muttered in response, "We don't really have much choice..." No...

But that didn't mean they couldn't fight back. "We're jus' gonna have t' take 'm out then," Katsuya growled, cracking his knuckles as they walked further out into the large hangar around them.

The chamber they were in had closed back over long before, but now that they were outside they could see puddles of water scattering the ground. Small droplets dripped from the air-tight seals above, and at the sides they could see large ventilation pipes carrying in air from the outside world. What light they had to see these with came from large lamps from the side, and as far as they could tell there was only one way forward; a long and well lit hall guarded by ceiling mounted turrets, each one of them in possession of a motion sensor that would activate at their passing. Not that he could see the turrets of course, but he was fairly certain they were there. He was also certain that without Noa's command, they'd fire as soon as they took a step inside.

As the crowd converged outside the ship the pilot poked his head through the door, swallowing nervously as he glanced at the turrets. It was quite obviously not his day, and the foreign pilot was sweating bullets as he attempted to attract his employer's attention. "Kaiba-sama," he called out, stepping forward from the ship's doorway as he swallowed. "Kaiba-sama, I've contacted the rest of the staff so that-"

-whrrr-

_-click_

The pilot froze as the turrets adjusted their aim, before again sending a spray of bullets forward.

- _BRINBRINBRIN BRINBRIN BRINBRINBRIN BRIN BRI_

"H-HAHH! HAH!" Pallas leaped back into the doorway as the turrets again took aim and fired, the crowd ducking as bullets bounced through the room. Metal bounced rapidly through the room even as the devices stopped, the bullets only just begining to stop as Katsuya turned back upward to where his mind told him the PA was located.

"Gh- What th' hell!" he snarled, clenching his fists. "Hey NOA! You tryin' t' kill us b'fore y' do whatever y' want with us!" Katsuya roared, a few of the others having similar opinions as they looked to where the blond had turned.

"Just what does he want with us," Yugi muttered, frowning somewhat as the others stared back at the ship. "He hasn't even told us that..." Who knew...

Noa was certainly more than willing to explain though, given the slight 'click' on the PA as it turned on its audio. "I believe I said duelists only," the boy said plainly, voice echoing loudly about the room. "While the loyalty of your staff is admirable," he went on, voice almost surprised in tone, "I intend to make sure that request is fulfilled. There are eight duelists before me now," the boy continued seriously. "I will take no more, and no less. Should I see anyone leave this ship," Noa warned as the tone darkened, "I will not hesitate to fire... So I'll say it again. I am only extending my invitation to the duelists I see here, and no one else. Everyone else will stay on the ship."

And there was no point arguing against it with the turrets pointed at them all. Though it seemed that this info had taken a bit to sink in in a few cases...

"Hold on a second," Otogi hissed, looking back from the PA to the others with narrowed eyes. "He thinks we're duelists? I was under the assumption that he just wanted non-staff off the ship," he protested at a whisper, "I've only played this game once!"

"Yeah well I haven't played at all," Honda responded darkly, "But you don't see me telling this nutjob that," he continued, his friend merely swallowing at the warning.

"So... On we go?" Katsuya 'asked', Seto merely storming forward with a determined glare. The others again traded looks as they were answered with silence, the blond eventually shrugging as he moved forward. "...Yeah... Yeah I'll take tha' as a 'yes'," he muttered, shaking his head.

"What I wouldn't mind knowing is why this is even happening," Anzu stated suspiciously, the group slowly making their way through the hall and looking around at the walls in curiosity. Occasionally a window to another room could be seen, or a locked door, but there was otherwise little else to see. Through the blackened 'two-way mirror' glass they could see dark rooms, some for testing machinery and others filled with nearly dust free furniture, untouched by humans of any kind for a number of years. And as they followed the PA-systems and lights along the sides the group held silent, pressing forward through the empty hall.

No matter how much time passed however Anzu's question was on everyone's minds, and as the others came to a large door at the end of the hall a number of them found themselves thinking on that question with still deeper suspicion. From the front Seto reached a hand out toward the door before them, tapping the handle and watching as it opened a crack. It was unlocked; this enough was enough to bring a deep scowl across her face, and with clenched fists she took a step back.

"Tch... Just what are your intentions with us?" the woman muttered, glancing to the sides as a solitary PA-system cracked to life again. "This is clearly a trap- so explain yourself!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... All will be made clear soon enough," the boy responded, low chuckling clearly audible in the background of where ever he was. "But for now," he requested politely, "Come inside. There are some people in here who are very eager to see you..." The crowd continued to tense with those words, Seto in particular narrowing her eyes at the mention of someone 'expecting' them. "Come on now," he added as the head of the group paused, turrets slowly turning toward them as they slid out from panels in the ceiling. "I'd much rather not waste bullets you know."

Those words were all it took to snap the woman from her suspicious silence, eyes narrowing as she tightened her jaw. "Tch..!" The door pushed open immediately after the snort hit the air, Seto storming forward as blinding light met their eyes. Initially there was nothing to see in the white glare; those near the front held their arms up in defense from what would likely render them temporarily blind if they stared too long, while those in the back ducked somewhat and squinted against the constant glow. As their vision cleared however, the light itself dying down, Yugi, the Kaiba siblings, and Katsuya all found themselves staring forward in horror, the expression more or less mirrored by Honda as five shadows appeared about a desk.

The room itself was nothing special at first glance. A board room it seemed, with the false image of Tokyo's skyline out of a window and a ring of chairs lining the table before them. There were mutterings behind them in regards to this of course... ' _A board room,_ ' Otogi was asking in particular, ' _In the middle of a place like this?_ '

_'Just who are those people,_ ' Shizuka added, the sounds blurring in the back of his mind. Most of them knew quite well 'who' those people were after all, and these people were the last ones he'd ever expected to see or hear from again if at all.

Sitting at the table after all were five figures that almost everyone in the room knew were meant to be long gone, five men whom had long since been dead and 'buried' in rubble. Yet as Seto stood frozen, eyes wide, all they could do was watch as the five stood, stepping forward with stiff expressions and narrowed eyes. "Hello 'Kaiba'," Oshita spat, wrinkled face curled into a scowl as he leaned against his cane. "I presume you're well?" One ghost was bad enough... Two was pushing it.

But God help them if these were really the 'ghosts' of the Big Five.

* * *

They weren't supposed to be here. And that was the first thing that came to mind after the chilled feeling that ran down her spine the moment she saw their faces, followed by a panicked yet hidden rush of denial and fear. She'd personally pulled the plug on each of their minds, left them to die and demolished the room to leave nothing left once she was sure no ghosts of memory would remain. She'd heard their panicked cries before hitting the 'mute' button and given each of them haunting 'final words', messages to carry with them to the far beyond. There was no evidence of their existence, nothing but whatever mourning families remained and old employment records, along with a hidden room that no investigator ever found.

And yet standing before her now she could not deny who it was addressing her, she could not deny that they had 'returned'. "You..." But they... They were dead! They were dead, she had killed them, it was IMPOSSIBLE! How... "How are you here?" she hissed, slight expressions of amusement flashing over the former board's eyes. They knew who she was now at that! If they...

If they said a single thing..! "I don' think they really are here," Jonouchi muttered from the side, an audible swallow coming through the air as he stared forward with similar thoughts. Personally she wanted to know how he would even realize that... Along with anyone else. But then she was also just wondering why the hell anyone else wanted to come, so she wasn't saying anything. Not looking back the woman instead continued to stare, the five before her chuckling at the obvious discomfort they had her placed in. "S... Kaiba," the blond repeated from behind, voice somewhat hesitant. "I think tha' these guys 'r..."

"Holograms," Yugi finished nervously, the window in the background flashing with the words. From the image of Tokyo's skyline came the ocean floor, the image merely reflecting the outside of the walls rather than imitating the steel wall it likely was. "This entire room is a hologram," the boy behind him continued, a few of the others staring in confusion as he stared. "All of this... It's completely fake!"

"If everything here is a hologram it still doesn't explain how they're here," Honda stated, growing pale as he backed toward the door. "Almost all of us were there that day," he continued with a shaking voice, "You know damn well they should be dead!"

"Dead?" Otogi repeated, turning with a jolt. "Just why would they be-"

"You can get your answers later," Ota muttered impatiently, narrowing his eyes as the crowd stared. "After all... Death is really a matter of opinion in this case. And I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to explain soon enough."

The others of the five nodded, each one looking toward them as the room appeared to flicker with static. "It's true that our bodies are long gone," Otaki continued on with narrowed eyes, "And that knowing you they're likely rotting where you left them... But our minds have remained locked in that exact state," he barked, teeth grinding. "With not a single moment to vanish with those corpses!"

"You almost lose yourself when you're in a position such as that," Oka stated lowly, the lawyer adjusting his glasses as his form flickered and shifted. "You forget what's real," he muttered, "And what _was_ real..."

"But in a way 'Kaiba-sama'," the next of the group snarled in sarcasm, "Your final words to us are the reason we can still be here..! After all," Daimon continued darkly, "Had it not been for our desire for vengeance, we would never have held a clear enough mind to keep ourselves intact!" Oh, so now this was 'her fault'...

Well, while she wouldn't blame them for wanting to get back at their murderers, the larger question still remained. How were they here! Not that they were answering that question of course, but until they did she wouldn't be able to handle this with a clear head. Of course, the five before her were still talking, having evidently not finished. "You're not the only one we want," Otaki stated with a growl, teeth grinding as the others in the room tensed in place. "Yugi, Jonouchi, Mokuba... We'd have gone after that 'beta-tester' we'd hired as well," he growled darkly, "But it would seem she isn't here..."

"Not that we mind," Ota added with narrowed eyes, evidently unaware of the situation on the 'Battle Ship' at the moment. "Even just you four are fine, so long as there are other options available..." Other-

What? "Other options?" Anzu repeated incredulously, eyes wide as she took another step back. "Just what do we even have to do with this?" she shouted. "Do you even have a clue as to what's going on right now? Or even why we're the ones who came out?"

"I don't think they really care," Otogi muttered, Seto narrowing her eyes somewhat as she listened to Anzu's words. What she had to do with this...

Anzu had a fair amount to do with this the woman realized with a frown, eyes narrowing further as she glanced back. She'd been one of the two idiotically creating a barricade while watching over her brother and the others in the pods, forcing the guards back until they finished in the game. As a result, she would be considered an instrument in the board member's deaths, and in the end was one of the few who even knew of their 'end result' if not indirectly...

But shouldn't she have known this herself then? The woman ground her teeth further as she pushed the thought from mind, glaring at the holographic forms of her deceased 'board'. Anzu wasn't the problem right now after all. What was the problem was the five murderous and treacherous men before her, who had more than once attempted a hit on her life and that of her brother's! "You... Just how is it that you managed to put together something like this any ways? Do you even have a 'plan'?" she continued, the five merely holding silent as their target snarled. "Or did you pull us here for nothing but talk?"

"Hmp! As impatient as ever," Oshita grumbled, adjusting the cane in his hands. The scowl across his face seemed to deepen even further if possible, fists tightening their grip before a smirk slowly came over him. "Of course, you are correct to assume we had aid in escaping to the network system here..."

"That's right... It wouldn't be fair to assume that we were without help," Oka continued, turning to the others. So there had been someone then. And if her guess was right, she knew exactly who that person was.

"So then 'Noa' did this," the woman growled, growing red with rage. "Hn! Typical... To get your 'vengeance' you had to turn to a child..." One that looked younger than Mokuba at that.

"Well, we share a common goal after all," Daimon responded, apparently not affected by the insult. Across from him Seto's frown deepened with confusion, the others as well narrowing their eyes. Common..? Just what did 'Noa' even have to do with her? She hadn't seen or heard of the boy until a few minutes prior, and even then she had no clue what it was that he 'represented'. "Of course... Noa-sama's methods are a little 'slow'," the man admitted as his target pondered Noa's identity, the man narrowing his eyes. "After all... It would have been much easier to simply kill you and be over with things..." Tch...

She'd like to see the 'holograms' try... Though given that they were connected to a series of turret guns, it would probably be best to hold her tongue for Mokuba sake and that of the others for now. "We may desire your swift and painful deaths of course, but we still owe Noa-sama our lives," Otaki muttered, frowning as the others listened in silence. "And in exchange for his help, for the opportunity to return to the world as heads of KaibaCorp, he only requested one thing in return..."

"That we face you, each of you," Ota clarified, "In a battle." A 'battle'? "That we fight fair matches out until the end... A duel," he added almost hintingly, Yugi's eyes widening somewhat at the term.

"A... A duel?" he repeated, staring forward. Seto as well frowned at that, staring in silence as the boy continued. "But why would Noa want you to duel us?" Yugi asked somewhat incredulously. "What point would that have?"

Yes just what point would there be in that, other than the five before them losing horribly yet again? They would end up facing three professional duelists, one being herself and the other being Yugi after all... And while she couldn't speak for Jonouchi and the others, she certainly wouldn't allow the scum before her the honor of a win.

The five appeared to scowl at the reminder of the duels however, narrowing their eyes in distaste. "Believe us when we say we would much rather kill you now, and be rid of you menaces as soon as possible," Daimon spat, eyes narrowed with considerable rage.

Oka nodded in agreement, nonetheless shaking his head. "Orders are orders however... And if we disobey Noa-sama," the former lawyer went on, "We would be much worse off..."

"The reasoning matters little though," Oshita barked, the room appearing to flicker and reveal flashes of steel in response to the rage. "What matters is that you're right where we want you; and unless you agree to a match played by Noa-sama's rules," he continued with a crazed scowl, "You're never leaving this place!"

"Keh! If it's a fight y' want," Jonouchi snarled from behind, "Then it's a fight you'll get! I'll take y' on," he roared, the woman ahead of him mentally smacking her forehead before a click took her attention from the blond's idiocy.

"Ah... N-Nihan," Shizuka was asking, the others only partially paying attention. "Before you do that..." The girl tapped her brother's shoulder, pointing to the back as the others turned. "Over there... Didn't we leave the door open?" she muttered fearfully, those listening quickly turning back with wide eyes as they followed her gaze. The door...

"The door-!" The others stared in horror at the steel wall that met their gaze, tiny glass windows fogged completely as the holographic room melted into the remains of a gas chamber.

"N-Nii-sama!" Mokuba whispered with a swallow, his sister gritting her teeth as she looked around them. "Nii-sama, the door is..!" Closed.

Something thick began to come over the air, Seto's eyes briefly widening as she turned back. This was more than just a trap... A hissing sound was echoing in the room, the voices around her were beginning to quiet... This...

This was... "You... Locking us in a room like this..!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... What?" the board called out, holograms stretching and distorting as the five figures appeared to flame into shadowed ghosts rather than their now deceased and buried counterparts. "Did you think we would be playing against you right here in this room?" they asked in unison, chuckling almost insanely. "Don't be so FOOLISH!"

"The doors... The doors are locked!" Otogi was shouting from behind, coughing weakly as he pulled with no result. "They aren't budging, we're... We're..."

"N-Nii-sama," Mokuba whispered from the side, stumbling on his feet as his sister turned back. "I feel... Dizzy..."

"Bastards... What th' hell is this!" Jonouchi snarled through his coughs, "Knock-out gas?" Most likely...

"Not too far from the fact," the board cackled, a loud 'thud' coming over the air as Mokuba collapsed. Seto barely caught the boy as he fell, the action quickly followed by Yugi as she placed her brother on the ground. The room was becoming hazed...

Falling to the ground next was Shizuka and Anzu as the gas took effect, and while the remaining boys stumbled on their feet Seto's own mind was spinning as she glared. These monsters... These...

More thuds hit the air... Honda... Otogi...

"Have a nice stay," the board muttered lowly, ghastly grins barely visible through the gaseous haze. "Ojousama..." Bastards...

"Monsters... The moment I find the computer you're connected to," she warned with a slightly slurred snarl, unable to concentrate on holding her voice, "I'll... I..." The gas had taken effect...

Whatever anyone else had said if they weren't knocked out already she couldn't hear, eyes rolling to the back of her skull as she toppled forward. And the last thing she saw as she finally faded out... As the doors opened and her mind lost its grip on reality...

Was some sort of machine pushing into the room to carry them off...

* * *

There hadn't been much to say after his statement of the obvious in the gas chamber. Probably because he was tired... More likely it was because he'd been standing right under one of the gas nozzles and collapsed around when Mokuba did. Though if anyone figured he'd fallen just before Honda had, that would probably be because he'd fallen backward...

And just about knocked him over. Either way he hadn't been expecting to wake up to see this, despite the fact he hadn't woken up yet. "Nnngh..." Opening his eyes of course had been difficult. The gas' effects still lingered, making his body weak, sore, sluggish...

Overall 'not healthy'. Looking around as he finally did rouse himself however, brought more than enough surprise as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Wh.. What th' hell..." Trees... Giant ferns and palms?

"A jungle?" Yugi asked from the side, the boy waking up with a short groan. "How did we end up in a jungle..?"

The others as well began to wake, more or less opening their eyes at about the same moment as they stood. All around them and the dirt clearing they stood in they could see trees and shrubs, tropical and extinct plant-life towering above them as a glaring sun burned even higher above it. "I think it's safe to say we're not really in a jungle," Mokuba grunted, stretching himself with a wince.

"Given that a dinosaur just flew past us," Honda added with a swallow, the pterodactyl in question having ducked behind the jungle's trees, "I'll have to agree with him on that..."

"H-Hahhh... D-Dinosaurs..."

"Well... A... At leas' we know it's jus' an illusion righ'?" Katsuya said with a quiet laugh, turning to his sister as the woman stared at where the monster vanished. "Nothin' t' be afraid of..."

"Eh..? N-Nihan," she said somewhat confusedly, turning to the blond. "I was just surprised, I never said I was scared..." Moving ON!

The others were also righting themselves, either wandering the field or standing in place like Seto with a scowl. "It's just a hologram," Anzu was muttering curiously, "But even though I know this..." The woman swallowed, sniffing somewhat at the air as she frowned. "It's so weird... I mean, it's not just the sights!" she exclaimed, "The sense of touch and smell, they're all real!" And they'd seen that before...

A rumble hit the air with those thoughts, a number of them growing pale as they turned to the source. "And so are the... Footsteps?" Honda questioned, before the trees above began to shake. "What the hell is big enough to-"

"THAT," Otogi answered fairly quickly, low growling meeting their ears as they turned.

" _Grrrrrnnn..._ " From between the trees rose an enormous scaled head, eyes widening with shock as the face of a tyrannosaurus-rex met their gaze. "Grnn... GRE _EEEEEEEEHHH REEEEEEEEEEEHHH_!"

"A... D... Di..." Shizuka grew pale, stumbling back with a jolt as the monster lowered its enormous maw in a threatening gesture. "Dinosaur... It's a..!"

"It... It's jus' an illusion!" Katsuya laughed nervously, backing away as he repeated the mantra in unease. "Jus' an'... Illusion..."

The dinosaur didn't quite agree it seemed, instead lowering its head further and preparing to launch the nearest person into its maw. " _GREEEEEEEEHHHHH_!" Yeah they should probably not hang around here.

"Not helping Nihan!"

"RUN!" another voice, likely Honda, shouted in panic. And really, he couldn't agree more with that plan.

"RIGHT B'HIND YAH!" he roared, shoes skidding across the dirt as he took off. "Let's get outta here!"

"Good idea, let's- H-Hey," Mokuba cut off, turning from his two-yard take off. "N-Nii-sama! What are you doing!" What? Why, what was she-

The others turned as the dinosaur snarled and widened its mouth, the woman standing before it apathetically as jaws moved to close over. "S- Kaiba!" Katsuya shouted, the beast snapping its jaws shut without another word. "A-AAAAHH!"

"Kaiba-san!" Yugi screamed, the dinosaur appearing to pause.

"Nii-sama!"

- _fzzzt_!-

Katsuya stared somewhat blankly as the jaws of the monster continued to remain shut as they lifted and phased through their intended target. Evidently, this dinosaur _wasn't_ completely real... Leaving Seto in question to smirk rather smugly as the confused beast turned to stomp away from the lot. Somehow, she hadn't been eaten.

Somehow.

He was probably going to hear about that for the next month now. "Hn! Pathetic..." Yeaaaaah... You tell whoever locked them in a VR jungle Seto-chan! That was a great idea! "Is this your idea of a fight?" Seto roared to the empty jungle, quite obviously unaware of Noa's location but not letting it distract her. "Using the tactics of a small child?" Well...

Noa was supposedly only 12 but... "It didn' work..." Why the hell didn't it work, they'd been slammed around like bean-bags in the last game...

Nonetheless Seto merely snorted at the statement, likely rolling her eyes. "Of course it 'didn't work'," she said plainly. "After all, while it's a virtual world," the woman continued, "It's still only an imitation of my hologram technology..." Wait, how the hell did she know- "Solid Vision only appears solid," Seto continued, the blond appearing just slightly surprised as a result. "You can't actually be struck by it." ...Oh. He wouldn't know that...

But okay. "He's right," Anzu muttered from the side, having separated from the group to study a flower at the side. The woman frowned as her hand passed cleanly through the blossom, shaking her head as she stared at the plant. "Even the flowers are fake- ... ...Eh..?"

"Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn..."

"HEEEEEHHH!" The group tensed, watching Anzu jump back as a small girl stepped out from the jungle to stand before her. "W-W-Who!" Yeah... Um...

That was a good question, one that the girl appeared more than pleased to hold over the crowd. The girl appeared familiar almost, despite the fantasy garb she was in. Her skin was about as pale as anyone there, and though her hair was a fair bit longer than the one that came to mind, the face still matched. Evidently he wasn't the only one who thought this either, as upon spotting the small child Seto had grown deathly pale...

With Noa chuckling darkly from above as his voice echoed about the trees and plants. "Welcome," the boy was saying, the small girl moving past the group and twirling a large mallet of sorts in her hands as the voice spoke. "To the virtual world..!"

"H-Heh... A little girl... But why would Noa use..." Why would he use a little girl, that didn't make...

"Ah- Jonouchi-kun," Yugi whispered with a swallow, Seto looking as though she was barely containing whatever annoyance and rage she so wished to express, "Isn't that... Her?"

"I'm pretty sure," he answered quickly, confused mutterings filling the air before a second child appeared. "Ah- That..."

The second child appeared quite similar to the first, but there were notable differences, and all of them disturbingly familiar for reasons completely unknown to him. Despite the near identical facial structure his eyes were grey rather than blue, and his skin was almost as dark as 'little Seto's' shoulder length hair. More importantly however was that his own hair, white in colour, was hidden beneath a bandana, with his clothes designed similarly to his implied opponent as he gripped a sword and shield.

"...He's kidding me," Seto hissed from the side, somewhat wide eyes looking to the children in distaste. She obviously didn't recognize the boy much beyond similarities to Noa's own, but she still had a point... "This is completely-"

"Ridiculous?" Noa offered, voice echoing through the air as he chuckled from above. "Preposterous, or perhaps even... Unforgivable? Perhaps I should explain," he continued plainly, the two children on the field staring each other down. "You see," the boy explained, "While you will each be 'dueling' as I promised, it's come to my attention that despite my greatest efforts, only half of you are at the 'fair level' entered in this game... All others are either recreational players or simply non-duelists, a true disadvantage..." Yeah, well, it wasn't as though they'd really been prepared. Though if the two before him were about to do what he thought they were... "Due to this disadvantage," Noa went on plainly, "These fights will be a little different than initially planned... We will be fighting with the deck-master system," he explained to the confused crowd, "Rather than simply fighting with cards, you will be fighting with your life... And whatever weapons are granted to you," he finished almost humorously, the children abruptly charging each other with a shout.

"HRAAAAAHHH!"

"GO!"

Sword connected with mallet side as they screamed, 'Chibi-Seto' initially finding her first swing missed before it was blocked and parried by her opponent. The boy in question, quite stuck by this point, found himself forced to push and flip back from the over-sized hammer, swinging his blade off from the weapon as the force blew both back.

"The deckmaster system works as follows," Noa explained through the fight, a holographic screen of sorts hovering at the side of each player's head in that instant. "Upon acting on a challenge to battle," he stated calmly, rows of panels streaming past each 'player's vision, "Each of the opponents will choose one monster from their deck to assimilate with, absorbing their abilities as their own. Here... How about a demonstration?" he asked with a sneering tone, the girl before them abruptly swinging her hand at the screen as a panel of light passed her.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" she shouted, hammer breaking into pixels as a bright light enveloped her. In an instant the girl appeared to 'grow' somewhat, a helmet resembling the monster's head covering the upper half of her face as wings sprouted from her back. White armor covered her from the neck down, and hair lengthened into a white pony-tail from the back of her helm before the light could even clear to reveal her body. As it did however she nodded, taking a fighter's stance with the enormous great-sword gripped tightly in both hands. "Hn!"

"Tch! As usual," her opponent snorted. "How typical you would pick the power house!" 'Chibi-Seto' appeared to grind her teeth at this, eyes thankfully covered lest anyone connect the expression to the real one. "My deckmaster will actually prove useful," the boy before them continued, tapping a card on the screen with his blade. "Total Defense Shogun!" he roared, his own armor fading out to shift and mirror that of the monster's. Weapons and shields of all kinds appeared on the boy's back as it was covered by straps, his own sword remaining in one hand as the shield on his arm increased considerably in size. "Let's GO!" he shouted in challenge, screen appearing to flash as he charged forward.

"Hn! Draw!" 'Seto' announced in response, running after her opponent as the screen again appeared at her side. Constantly the weapons clashed, her opponent's blade throwing her back blow for blow as the screen reacted to her words. "Summon the Lord of dragons!" she shouted as the panel vanished from her sights, "And play the Flute of Summoning Dragon as well!"

Down at the side the monster arose in a pillar of light, halting her opponent's advance as the boy leaped back to glare. Bone-lined armor and weaponry would prove just slightly more powerful than himself after all, and while the small 'shield' was in place the monster pulled a flute from a pouch at the side. The flute that appeared in the monster's hand was brought calmly to his lips, a loud and echoing horn's note rumbling through the air as he activated the spell.

"Gh- Shit-"

"Two more dragons are summoned from my hand!" the girl snarled from the side, not bothering to move for the moment as she made her play. Two 'cards', mere panels of light appeared at her sides, bursting into pillars of white flame and pixels as they began to form. "Blue-Eyes and Blue-Eyes!" 'Chibi-Seto' announced, the enormous and majestic beasts hardly doing the real versions justice.

"Blu-" Yugi's eyes widened, the boy shaking his head in disbelief. "But... With the deckmaster system in place," he muttered at the summoning, "That would mean..."

"That kid just summoned three blue-eyes white dragons in one turn," Otogi muttered, eyes wide. "And she could still cream her opponent with Lord of D!"

"Sheesh," Honda groaned, rubbing his head. "She's just as over kill as Kaiba is..."

"Gh..." Probably best to ignore them right now, and not add to things...

...And in their case, not turn around in case she was glaring at them...

On the field 'Chibi-Seto' still had the screen up, her Lord of Dragon now grappling with the boy before her in order to stall him. Evidently the 'life-point' system still applied though, as despite the increased strength, the turn-based point of the game prevented either from dying or even landing a fatal blow. The Lord certainly wasn't trying to make one after all, and given how much luck the opponent was having in landing one...

Well, it was likely just what 'Chibi-Seto' had planned, as a third panel had appeared on her screen as she continued her turn. "Last card... The spell Polymerization!" she cried, vortex appearing in the air behind her. "I'll add my dragon's power to my own," the girl roared, her dragons sucked into the spiral as she grinned almost madly, "Summoning the Ultimate Dragon!"

"Ah-" This time it was Anzu's turn to pause, the woman staring in shock. "But if she's the deckmaster then doesn't that mean-"

Blinding light filled the air as the girl again charged, jumping into the air as her opponent looked up. Again the girl grew, the vortex crushing and flowing into a single stream that coated her body completely with the light of the two dragons she was merging with. Through the light one could see robes replacing her armor, the wings lost in lieu of a billowing cape as the helmet thankfully remained in place. Rather than wielding the oversized great sword now she held a simple claymore, and though she hovered in the air it was plain to see she was making her attack from the safe distance where she stood.

"The ability of the Ultimate Dragon," she announced, free hand appearing to glow brightly as flames whipped around it, "Is that fusion monsters can attack the moment they are summoned... This is the end!" she roared, pointing her hand forward as the flames blasted forward, "BURST STREAM!"

"Tch- I sacrifice 1000 lifepoints," the boy announced, hopping away from his battle with the lord of dragons to drop the blade, "To activate my effect... Mirror Force Barrier!" Mirror force?

Shit. 'Chibi-Seto' (Not really chibi by now) paled, grip on her sword tightening with shock as her opponent announced the ability. "Nh! You-!"

The boy before them held his hands high as a shield of shimmering light appeared around him, the blast of white flames his opponent sent forward ricocheting off the sides in an instant. White met white as the woman was struck by her own attack, screaming from the force of the fires while the others were left blinded to the point of turning away. In just moments the light had thankfully cleared the field- the fires from the area were gone, along with the woman who had summoned them...

Her opponent in the meantime merely returned to the state he had been initially fighting in, turning to leave through the jungle with a blank expression in place.

"Gone," Katsuya found himself muttering, eyes wide as he looked about the field. "She lost..."

"So then... Even if we have lifepoints left," Yugi stated with a swallow, grabbing at as much as he could from the duel's result, "If we, the 'deck masters' are destroyed, we lose no matter what..."

Just like 'real life'.

"Gh... Bastards..!" The others turned as Seto began to speak again, the woman beyond livid and murderous by this point. "You told us we would fight fairly!" the woman roared, clearly pissed both over her situation and the fight they'd witnessed just now. "Yet you introduce ridiculous rules such as this," she continued, "And turn it into some sort of melee!"

In a sudden flash the jungle vanished, the board room again appearing around them as the big 5 sneered. "But of course," Ota chuckled, before a scowl appeared on his face. "After all," he muttered darkly, "So long as both sides play by the same rules, it's only fair..."

"You can consider it punishment for bringing in only half of the duelists," Otaki added, bowing his head as the others nodded. "Given that we would have simply dueled using standard rules if that had been the case..." Yeah... Somehow he doubted that but really, who was arguing.

"So what do you say?" the next of the group continued, again adjusting the glasses on his face. "Will you fight... Or will you surrender?" Oka asked, a dark smirk growing somewhat as the light glared from his glasses.

Seto merely continued to grind her teeth, nails digging into her palms. "You haven't even given us any choice otherwise," her brother roared, his own expression almost mirroring his sister's as he buckled under the emotional pressure. "All we can do is fight!"

"Ack- But I don't even have my deck," Shizuka muttered, her brother merely smirking.

"No problem; there's only five guys here..." And three duelists... Eh... "I'll jus' have t' fight in yer place," he decided with a grin, a number of the others trading looks as the girl stared.

"Hey... And just what does that mean for us?" Honda asked, frowning as the blond shrugged.

"Ehhhh... Do what y' wan'," he said with a smirk, his friend choking on air as he stared incredulously.

"Do wha- JONOUCH-"

"What's going to happen if we lose?" Anzu abruptly asked, the group cutting any conversations or curses short to turn their attentions to the question. "We know that to escape we have to win," she continued seriously, "But what if we lose?"

"Ahhh... Someone finally understands," Oshita stated, chuckling as Otaki smirked. "I was wondering when we would get that question..."

"Winners get prizes, losers get punishments... It's only natural to question about what that punishment is," Otaki said calmly. "Of course, as to the answer..."

"Should you lose," Oka explained, adjusting his glasses absently, "You will remain here, your minds trapped in a fate identical to our own..."

"Your bodies in the meantime, will become ours," Oshita growled, those before him staring with wide eyes. "Regardless of gender preference," he added with a subtle glance to Seto, "Though it's quite clear that we can still escape this with such a thing intact..." This...

This was... "You monsters," Seto hissed, fists clenched as they hinted at what knowledge they had inexplicably held back from the crowd. "This shouldn't even be possible! This..."

"How could you do this?" Anzu shouted, the protests filling the room. "WHY!"

"Damn it all..." There was no question as to why, they were dead and pissed wasn't it obvious? Across from them the five merely chuckled, flaring into shadows once more as they rose above the crowd. The board room had again melted into the steel-floored room it represented, and behind the 'shadows' was nothing but empty white space and light.

"What can we say," they chorused, cackling madly as they loomed above. "We ARE monsters now! What did you think became of us!"

"Gh..." 'Monsters'? That was just an insult. "If yer so eager, why don' y' start th' fight now!" Katsuya roared, stepping forward with narrowed eyes. "If yer so confident," he continued as he stared the shadows down, "How come you haven' star-"

-ted..? The blond cut off abruptly, the ground vanishing beneath his feet in a perfect circle as he scrambled for the edge with no luck.

"H-Haaah-haaahHAAAAHHH! SHIIIIT!" WHY DAMN IT. "SHIIIIIIITT!"

"Katsuya-nii!" Mokuba's faded voice called out, the others shouting almost in unison as he toppled through streams of data and code.

"Nihan!" Shizuka...

"Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi..!

"JONOUCHI!" ...Wait...

Seto?

Katsuya found himself pushing the thought from mind rather quickly, instead screaming and holding his arms up in defense as he fell forward. Light was stabbing at him...

Darkness surrounded him and above, the hole that had plunged him down had disappeared. Both his clothes and 'body' were being peeled away by lines of zeroes and ones leaving nothing but a spectral, glowing version of himself similar to the last virtual game he had played. Dark...

It was completely dark and yet as he landed in the middle of this darkness, a screen appeared before him. It was a simple screen really... A game screen it looked like, complete with a stat sheet and a level. And in addition, just beneath the words 'Tap Start to Begin'...

"Ah- This is..." This was the same sheet he'd had before! In the last virtual game the blond realized, when he and the others had to save Seto!

Katsuya stared confusedly at the screen, narrowing his eyes as he looked it over. Same stats, same level, same-

...Class and armor... "Oiii... I thought I picked th' warrior class," he muttered, tapping the screen in accusation before jumping as the darkness vanished. Instantly his 'clothes' were returned, a new outfit covering him as a weapon appeared in his hands to begin the game. The menu before him as well vanished from the darkness, and from beneath him a vast wasteland appeared as he fell. "Ah- H-HAAAHHH! WHAT TH' HELL IS WITH-"

- _fmmp_

Great.

Sand. "Gn! Pbt! Plleh! PLEEEEEH... Bleeeeeh..." The blond spat any sand that landed in his mouth from the fall as far out as possible, staff somehow still gripped in his left hand as he groaned. Shaking hands pulled his body to his hands and knees after the failed and near instant landing, clumps of sand stuck to his mouth as he attempted to wipe it off. "Ugggghhh 'f all things t' end up in... Why th' hell did it have t' be sand..."

"Hnn... That's a good question," a familiar voice stated, the blond jumping as he turned. Before him stood Noa, in the same form he had seen from his dreams and with not a hair out of place. "I suppose that it has to do with something in your head..." In...

In his head?

Noa nodded, as though hearing the thoughts within his mind before speaking. "Well... I sent everyone to chain of memories after all," the boy explained, "And its their job to get out. I might as well make it easier to balance the field after all..." Well. He supposed that the balancing thing made sense but... To get out... Well he'd never even been in a desert befo-

Katsuya froze, looking around as he cut the thought short. No... That wasn't completely true, there were still his dreams weren't there... "Then... Th's place..." Sand...

A stable house...

Goats. Lots of goats. Crap. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Good... You've got the idea," Noa said with a smirk, slowly fading from existence. "Memories are fragmented into dreams after all... So why not end up trapped in one? All you have to do now is find your 'meal ticket'," the boy continued, eyes narrowing in mirth as his target continued to look around. "Good luck with that..." Yeah, yeah, like he care-

Wait, Noa was right behind- "Ah- O-OIII!" he shouted, turning to the empty space Noa had filled moments prior. "Wait! Get back here so I c'n beat th' shit outta y'! NOAAAAA!"

It was probably expected that he wouldn't get an answer he supposed. Noa was the 'enemy', and probably not going to trust him anymore than he did now. The blond sighed, shaking his head before looking himself over in the meantime. He might as well get used to what he was wearing after all... And from what he could tell, the armor he had was fairly similar to what he'd seen 'Chibi-Seto' initially wear, excluding various golden accessories. Of course he couldn't help that note that his own 'tunic' was more likely a 'wrap' of sorts, the fabric tied in place by a sash. So he had a tunic on then...

But what else? His feet had sandals at least but they were so simple that they felt practically as bare as his legs, and while the tunic came to his knees to make up for the fact he also appeared to be wearing a billowing and large sleeved cloak. The fabric shone a bright and flaming red to contrast the scenery and the rest of him, with a few lines of white along the edges. Yet even with this colour contrast he still 'fit' his location, the cloak seeming just as familiar to his subconscious thoughts as the rest of the area.

“Shit... I look like something from a god-damn nativity scene," he muttered, tightly gripping his staff in his free hand while pulling at the cloak with a scowl. Seriously, what was going on with that? The blond continued to frown, looking around in confusion. Somehow as he'd looked down the goats had all vanished, replaced with a vicious sand-storm that ended a few feet from where he stood. There was now nothing but endless sand and an empty stable house around him, not counting the blistering heat from the sun above.

And there was supposed to be a way out of this? Really?

" _Try looking for a door you moron,_ " a voice muttered, Katsuya rolling his eyes. Hah! Oh great... He was talking to himself. As if seeing everything else didn't make him crazy already! " _Hn! To others maybe... But you're not talking to yourself._ " Not ta-

Waaaaiiit this voice was... "H-Heh..? It... It's you!" he shouted with a jolt, looking to the air on reflex with wide eyes. "Th' ghost..!"

" _Yes, yes, the 'ghost',_ " it muttered sarcastically, voice seeming to echo about the back of his mind. " _And stop staring at the sky like an idiot,_ " the spirit added, presence still unseen to the blond as he looked down with a red face. " _Honestly... I would think that this sort of conversation was impossible without unconsciousness,_ " the ghost pondered curiously, " _But evidently being placed into a virtual dream is close enough to it for this to work._ " Errr...

Kay... Man this was weird... Though he supposed it made sense if-

Wait... "Wh- Hang on... If yer still in my head, do y' know where we are?" he asked hopefully, a grin appearing on his face as he reminded himself not to look up.

" _Of course not idiot, you're unconscious._ " Thanks...

Katsuya shrugged, scratching his head at the blunt response. "Well, it was worth a shot..." Another snort came from the spirit in his mind at the comment, the blond sighing as he looked around. "So... What 'xactly can y' see then?" he asked, squinting through the sands around him.

" _Nothing actually; what I can 'see' is merely a transfer of your memory._ " Memory?

"Wait, yer searchin' through my head!?"

The spirit balked, the image of the flustered ghost coming to mind as it snarled. " _Of course not, fool! These are your 'present memories', thoughts and recollections of what you see and say mere moments before! Haven't you ever wondered why you think about what you say after you say it? Well don't,_ " it continued, " _Because it's the only reason I can even communicate with you!_ "

"Ack- Got it, got it," he said quickly, ducking under the words as he winced. "I won' argue..."

" _Good. Now then... From what I can tell the memory here in this game, the one you're trapped in_ ," it clarified, as though waiting to see if his 'friend' would correct him, " _Is merely another true 'memory' entirely. Though it's certainly not one of this time,_ " the spirit added somewhat sourly. " _Hnnn... I wonder.._." Eh..?

Wonder what? Katsuya blinked, subconsciously turning back to glance at the stable house before jumping and looking back as the spirit spoke again.

" _Go due north_ ," it said somewhat quietly, voice sounding tense as it gave the order. " _This storm is likely a representation of whatever is fogging your memory... It shouldn't harm you,_ " the ghost continued, " _Not unless this 'Noa' person is as sadistic as certain other people._ "

"Certain others?" he asked with a frown, raising his eyebrows as the ghost shook his head in that same back-of-mind vision.

" _Later,_ " the spirit muttered, still crossing his arms as it spoke. " _For now, just do as I said; I'll see what I can do to help you from there,_ " it continued seriously, " _But as 'Noa' told you, these are your memories; while I can help with what both our minds experienced, there are certain things that you'll have to figure out on your own._ " Hn!

This really was like a video game then! "Got it," he found himself answering, walking forward through the sand and wincing as he passed through the storm unharmed. All that happened was that his vision was blocked, and his legs somewhat burnt from the contact with the ground. "Man I wish I had shoes," he muttered, idly looking down as he continued forward.

" _Hn! Learn to live with it_ ," the ghost told him with a smirk, Katsuya rolling his eyes. Of course...

In the meantime, he'd be pondering how similar this was to conversations between the two Yugis to pass the time it would take walking through the desert.

* * *

While Jonouchi Katsuya was travelling through a desert his own mind had locked from him for some reason, others found themselves in stranger situations, situations that most would find themselves barely able to keep track of. It was a bit of a 'gift' he supposed, being able to see and comprehend those very situations all at once. Had this been eight years prior he'd still be fumbling over the programming of the system entirely, raging over the inability to even re-program the silly loops and 'single options' his father had locked into the reality he was forced to accept. But that was then.

And this was now. And right now with his eyes closed, he could see many 'realities', each one as 'real' as the last. In the fields and parks of a simple riverside district in Osaka, Shizuka Kawai was watching a younger version of herself bicker with a boy she had met only that day. The two had been forced into partnership as they floated in one of many swan boats, and neither wanted anything to do with their twelve year old counter-parts.

In the Grand Canyon of Arizona however, from another memory of a time long before, Anzu Mazaki was walking a path that mirrored the one she had taken as a small and confused child, when her hand had been held by her Grandfather rather than gripping a staff in tense fear from what monsters had been entered to the system. Further 'away' in terms of memory and distance both however there were Hiroto Honda and Ryuuji Otogi, whose memories had merged to create their next and combined challenge; from Honda's vision of the middle school's 'Kyoto field trip' and temple came the building and location both, and from the depths of Otogi's very own nightmares and childhood stories came the mood and opponents. It would be quite a while before they escaped from both the building and the monsters that filled their hall...

And even then, Honda was not the only one who affected the memory's 'location', with a dark and chilling surprise waiting for them at the end.

But the whereabouts of those people mattered little to him, almost as little as Yugi Mutou awakening at the peak of a waterfall did. All that caught his attention with that particular situation really was the distance between himself and his opponent, the digital form of Oshita's 'Deepsea Warrior' lurking in wait beneath the enlarged Shoumyou river's depths. Their fight would be soon, but not just now.

He'd watch them when it did. For now however there were two groups he would keep an eye out for, and two only. Seto Kaiba and her brother would be the the first of course, Noa's mind extending an eye out to watch as the pair trekked through the thick trails of a Mountain they hadn't seen in four years. It was a tall mountain, a well known portion of the alps and known to the world as its tallest point. According to their memories they had only been there because of a business agreement between their own family's War Arms business and that of the former German Arms and Defence company known as 'Schroeder Corp'.

A company that had been creating weapons and systems since the time when blades were the weapon of choice, a clear reference in their name's meaning. As to what the pair thought of the location, the reactions couldn't have been more varied. Mokuba had been too young to really remember much, and all he could do was ponder how familiar the terrain was as he and his sister cut through small waves of duel monsters. His reaction to the location was a mix of dull curiosity and indifference, his own drive to move forward increased by the monsters ahead. Seto on the other hand had only served to become more ruthless in this pursuit the further they went, as though spurred on by a hated memory...

And if he was correct that memory would do just that, even if it hadn't been the intended memory for them to become entrapped in. There were certain things he wanted them to relive, specific moments... But really, he could deal with that in just another moment. For now he paused in his observation of the woman he so hated, of the woman whom he had spent so long detesting for her lies. For now, there was someone more important than even her- and as he turned his eyes back to the deserts of Ancient Egypt, where Katsuya trekked through the sands, Noa found himself frowning in what was, for the first time in a long time, the sensation of confusion. His memories...

Even to him they were unknown, a fact that would cause problems within the program. They were scrambled, confusing, and more importantly those of someone who couldn't tell reality from fiction if he only gave it a passing glance. Monsters battling in a blood soaked street, Gods arising from cards...

These memories would cause problems he told himself as he opened his eyes, frowning as his plan reformed. Problems he had no time for. Problems he had no patience for.

"A program then," he decided, pushing in through the vulnerable and defenseless memories of the mind he had focused on. "One who knows him," the boy continued, seemingly floating through space as an image came to mind. Humanoid, for familiarity... With key points to make it identifiable as 'inhuman', and as a being under his control. And of course, a few portions would have to allow it access to the rest of the program, that was for sure. There were just a few things he would have to do to make this program- and while he was at it...

Why not make a second? A 'spy' of sorts, something to handle the data that was so scrambled within the human mind. Something to make sure his two most 'prized guests' on the mountain didn't stray from the path, or attempt to break free from the net that was slowly closing in on them. Something to probe their thoughts with more focus and detail while he busied himself with everything else...

Yes, he told himself with a smirk, the boy crossing his arms as the plan locked into place. Something that could break even her defenses, finding a weak-point more vulnerable than even her brother! Yes, that was perfect...

And from behind two figures in white appeared from nothingness, neither one any taller than their creator before them. Their outfits almost mirrored that of their creator, but despite the childlike appearance there were more bestial traits that set them apart. These would work he told himself as he turned. These would work perfectly...

"Your names?" the boy asked as he looked to the programs, one 'male' in appearance and one 'female'. The two stood with blank expressions in place, eyes glazed and unblinking as their creator gave the command. "What are your names?" he repeated, wishing to see just what memories had been used to build the pair to form them.

"Kisara," the first stated, blue eyes somewhat shadowed as she stared toward her 'creator'.

The second as well showed no signs of life in that regard, grey eyes appearing almost dead as he gave his own answer to the boy.

"...Seraph."


	3. Into the River

The path they had been taking for the last hour or so was long and rugged, with bushes and stones littering the way. There were patches of snow lining the sides and above them the great pines of the forest towered like skyscrapers, blocking out a majority of the sun to give the area a more secluded feel. As with most forests this one was inhabited, though not by the expected boars and squirrels of the country. Instead she and her brother had found themselves fighting duel monsters, rushing down the trail and occasionally blasting back whatever wave attacked from the trees.

Despite the implied and illusory sense of time that passed, and the heightened strength that allowed them to barrel through what kuriboh and watapon appeared however, she could not help but think back to a time before all of this.

A time in a place not at all unlike this one.

Mokuba had asked her if they'd been here before of course, shortly after they'd fallen for the second time, from the 'darkness' they'd landed in. The first time after all there had been nothing to ask about, nothing to question. As they'd fallen from the virtual room she'd held him close for protection, eyes filled with rage for their captors. As she muttered curses in the back of her mind though they'd found themselves landing in mid-air, glowing and almost 'formless' in appearance, just as they had been during the start of the Virtual Reality game they played half a year ago. There had been screens before them once they righted themselves in the darkness...

Screens depicting things they hadn't seen for a long time. On Mokuba's there was an impressive series of stats, combined with an image of himself in the same blue coloured ninja-garb he'd worn before. On hers a similar image, albeit instead with her own (unfortunately) red armor. It was after touching 'start' that they found themselves here in those very clothes however, and while she'd told her brother that it was 'nothing' when he'd asked where they were, and that they needed to press on to find an escape, the memories refused to leave her thoughts.

It was probably Noa's fault she told herself, venting her anger on the nearest weakling of a monster by means of a completely overkill 'FIRE' spell from her sword. The mountain they were on, the one she could remember hiking up during those few summers, skiing on even, before that happened...

Something she wanted to forget. Something that, though already a mere fragment in the back of her mind, carried with it a feeling of nausea and dread. Something bad had happened, and it tied to this memory. But how...

How-

"How many of these things are there?" her brother shouted from behind, the pair momentarily spinning back-to-back to be rid of the pests swarming them. In spirals of blood and fur both the attacking watapon were dispersed, Mokuba gritting his teeth as a horde of more yellow furred cotton puffs appeared in their place. "They just keep coming!"

Yet another wave of monsters were destroyed, blood staining the snow and sword as Seto spun the blade through still another kuriboh. Tch... This wasn't doing anything! "We'll just have to burn through them all at once!" she snarled, teeth grinding before the screen at her face's side appeared. Throughout the trek up the mountain both siblings had caught sight of this screen a number of times; level ups, stat bonuses... Thankfully there were no 'inventory' dealings, which proved that this would take a shorter amount of time than it could.

...Hopefully.

A small window opened at the screen, the woman raising her eyebrows as a dark look came over her face. Ahaaaa... Now this would work. "Get down Mokuba!" she shouted as she ran through the commands on screen in her mind, the boy doing just that. The monsters around them appeared to converge just ahead of them, gathering into a swarm of white and brown as she took in a deep breath. In...

And...

Go! " **AERO**!" The wind escaped her lips with enough force to cut down the nearest row of trees as she cast the newly received spell, her brother staring in wide eyed horror as the monsters before them were cut into pixelated light, blood, and bone. The beasts were killed so quickly that there wasn't time to render the damage, and as the woman wiped her mouth she slowly helped her brother from the ground. "Hn... That should keep them away for a bit," she muttered, her tone somewhat lighter than normal after the wind-based attack. The boy merely nodded somewhat nervously, blinking a few times as he looked down the path. Eyes could be seen in the distance, past all the trees...

Nothing was approaching just yet, but they were there. "Yeah... A bit," Mokuba muttered as he caught sight of the beasts, slowly shaking his head before turning back to his sister. "Nee-sama," he asked, the siblings standing in place for the moment as they caught their breath. "How are we going to get out of here anyways? It feels like its been hours..." Yes...

It did feel like a long time, particularly given the ground they'd covered on the mountain. But if Noa knew as much as he did, that was all fake. It had probably been only as much as ten minutes, providing plenty of time for whatever plan the boy had in store for them. Seto found her gaze refusing to soften in regards to the slight relief of pressing time, momentarily closing her eyes as a memory persistently flashed.

_'Come on_ ,' he was shouting, pulling her forward with a grin. ' _Mutti's going to be busy with your father for at least the day,_ ' he continued as he laughed, Seto rubbing her head as the memory pushed in her mind. ' _We have all the time in the world, lets have some fun for once!_ ' Damn it...

Get out, get OUT! "Ghhh..." Get OUT!

"Nee-sama?" Mokuba asked hesitantly, tapping his sister's arm. "...Are you alright..?" Seto steeled herself, shaking her head and looking down as the memory faded. She knew that voice somehow; more importantly, that voice had belonged to someone close... But she didn't want to know who, and in all honesty, she couldn't care.

"I'm fine," she muttered, gaze softening somewhat as her brother stared. "I'm fine... I'm just thinking about how to get out," the woman continued, taking a few steps forward as she looked toward the distant trail. "The closest thing I can think of likely applies only to the game I'm working on at home though," she growled under her breath, crossing her arms somewhat while keeping a firm grip on her sword. That game... After the 'Legendary Heroes' fiasco, she'd been sorely tempted to scrap the VR project altogether. But the prospect of expanding to something that didn't rely on I2's card industry was too much to pass up, particularly with the possibilities in the software. Provided she get rid of all the possibilities of fatality. And comas. And so on, so on... "I programmed a specific way to locate an 'exit' after that fiasco in the game," Seto explained as the game's hardware came through her mind, "A 'door'," she added. The pair walked forward somewhat before turning to look back down the mountain, the woman continuing with a slight frown. "...Just a normal door," she repeated almost distantly.

They'd almost made it to the peak. Looking back now there was no sign of all the battles they'd participated in, of the monsters they'd encountered. How interesting... Everything here was an illusion, but while she knew this, it was all too easy to forget what was real.

Reminding her of the Big-5's own chilling words before Mokuba's voice pulled her from the slowly drifting memories. "...A door?" he asked somewhat plainly. "You mean like that?"

The woman turned back at this, eyes widening just briefly as they stared at the oaken door before them. As she had said. An ordinary door. Just... An ordinary door, with a turn handle, no markings... "Exactly like that," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she approached the structure to peer around it. There was nothing to be seen on its opposite side, nothing but the other side of the door as it stood on the mountain. "Hn! How convenient," the woman muttered almost bitterly, "I start talking about exits and one appears right before us." It was so obvious a trap she could puke.

And yet there was apparently more to it than that. "I merely assumed it would be the preferable option, as opposed to the others," a somewhat monotone voice stated, the siblings turning with a jolt.

"Gh- Enemy!" Mokuba shouted, only to be held back by his sister. The boy swallowed, looking upward as the one before them stared. "I- ...N-Nee-sama?" Seto didn't answer, instead stepping toward the girl that stood before them with wide eyes. White hair and skin along with blue eyes, garbed in a skirted version of Noa's own clothing... The girl was likely younger than Noa and Mokuba both, resembling a ten-year old at the oldest with the facial expression of a composed adult. But that wasn't what caught her attention, despite the oddities of everything else. A tail and wings, small fin-like ears...

The white scales of these limbs shimmered in the fake sunlight, creating a slight and subtle sparkle that danced with the trees that blew in the wind. "This..." Pieces of Blue-Eyes, tacked onto a girl she had only seen in a nightmarish hallucination, did Noa have any gall at all-!

"Noa-sama did not intend for me to take this form," the girl stated, her observers raising their eyebrows. The girl fell silent just as quickly as she'd spoken up, expression unchanging and undaunted in the face of the two she addressed. This courage however was passed off as a 'computer' related detail, and served to only further incense the taller of the pair.

"I never said anything," Seto growled, narrowing her eyes as she looked the girl over. This girl... "Who are you anyways?" she asked, the child before them holding her arms firmly behind her back as she looked up.

"I am a program," the girl stated flatly. "I am called 'KISARA', after that which was present in the memories which formed my body." Memories? Seto's eyes narrowed somewhat in confusion, the woman listening as the 'program' continued on. "I was created by Noa-sama to guide you to your proper path," 'Kisara' explained, the siblings merely staring in suspicion. "More specifically, I am to create proper paths should you stray off the first." Hang on... She was supposed to guide them?

"Like I'm believing that for even a moment," she hissed, narrowing her eyes as the girl turned somewhat to stare. Kisara... She'd heard that name, in that bizarre hallucination on the deck field, seen her face. Seen the white hair, the pale skin, the blue eyes... She'd seen all of it, in that feverish day-dream that defied all logic and all imagination at the same time. It couldn't be real. Yet it couldn't not be real her mind told her, the resulting conflict sending waves of pain through her mind. And now standing before her was something supposedly formed from those 'dreams', something that for some reason she found herself wanting to trust despite better judgment.

She was beginning to hate that side of herself. Mokuba slowly stepped off to the side, looking from the door to Kisara before speaking. "You... You said you made that door appear?" he asked, pointing toward it as the girl stared.

Kisara briefly looked over Seto in her continually blank stare, before curtly nodding and answering the question. "Correct," she told them, eyes honing in on the door. "I was given the order to guide you toward the proper path of memory, that you might find your opponent quickly. As per Noa-sama's request, it will be two-on-one," she continued to explain, "Forming a slight balance in powers." Hn! Slight indeed, they would win by a landslide...

And when she got out, she was getting rid of every trace of this idiotic 'VR program'. As Seto turned however the girl went on, tail twitching somewhat as she spoke.

"I must warn you," she stated clearly, "Before we find this match location, you must first pass your challenge. You will not get there simply by moving door to door. You much also finish the challenge."

"Challenge?" Seto repeated incredulously, gripping her sword tightly as she turned back on the child. "As I recall," she spat, "We were told that we would be dueling and nothing else!"

"Indeed; you were told there would be duels to discern your fate," the girl announced, blinking slowly as she stared forward. "However," she continued, "Noa-sama has never said what would occur prior those events. Until you have travelled your 'mind' as long as requested from him," Kisara explained, "You will be unable to meet with your opponent." Wh- They wouldn't even...

Well wasn't that typical...

"It is your choice of course," the strange 'dragon-girl' told them, eyes flashing for a moment as Seto ground her teeth in rage, "But it would be preferable that you heed by these words." Preferred preferred preferred... Just say they had no choice already damn it!

"Hnp! And I suppose that door will take us to that 'path' and challenge?" she growled, pointing back toward the door. "Leading to whatever else your 'master' has in store?

Kisara nodded, bowing her head somewhat as she closed her eyes. "It will. Provided you follow that path, moving from door to door," she added in explanation, "You will complete your quest."

"Is that true?" Mokuba asked hesitantly. "It's not a trap?" he pressed, Seto merely narrowing her eyes at what was considered a 'stupid question'.

"Of course not," the girl answered, again staring blankly forward. "Noa-sama has great plans for both of you; there are eight people here after all. It would be foolish to assume that he intends to decide on the 'survivors' at random. There will be a process after all." Hang on... What..?

"Then why make sure that we come?" Seto growled, eyes somewhat wide as she slowly took a fighting crouch. "If he doesn't plan on attacking us, then why involve us in the first place?"

The girl merely continued to stare, eyes unblinking in response to the growing threat. "I never stated that you would both be survivors," Kisara told them, tilting her head. "While it will not be random, it will certainly not be decided just yet, when so many have yet to pass through their challenges. Noa-sama has plans; that is all I am able to reveal. In order to discover these plans," she continued, holding a hand out to the door, "You must complete your journey." Journey...

Seto turned to leer at the door, pulling a face in response as it seemed to give off the air of suspicion and dread. This or nothing. There was no choice then... She detested that fact, but there was no choice.

"Fine... Mokuba," she said almost quietly, the boy running behind her as she grabbed the door and pushed it inward. "Let's go."

"Ah... Right!"

* * *

The trail he'd woken up on was a familiar one, at least it was to him. It was laden with flattened and somewhat damp ground, lined with grasses and stones as the sounds of a waterfall echoed slightly to the distance. Above him trees at varying heights had grown, blanketing the sky above somewhat in green as he travelled. He'd been walking only a short while through the forest; it was as though he'd lost all sense of time, and despite the urgency of the situation he couldn't help feel calm and at peace with the area. Perhaps it was his other self's presence that helped though...

Even without the puzzle after all he was still there, ever present and ever cautiously curious in the back of his mind. " _Where is this exactly?_ " he asked, only barely able to see through his hosts's eyes. It was strange being unable to see his other half again, but he supposed it made sense. How could a ghost project themselves into a videogame after all he asked himself. He hadn't been able to last time...

It would be foolish to expect him to now. These thoughts however would have to wait, and with that in mind he pressed forward. "This place... They're the trails of Shomyo river, on Mount Tate," the boy responded, looking around as he held his three-bladed 'boomerang' at the ready. "I came here a long time ago," he continued somewhat nostalgically, "Back when my dad was home more often. Before he was promoted," Yugi went on, "And my mom and I had to move in with Grandpa. We'd come here to see the falls," he continued, eyes slightly distant as he walked quietly. "The twin falls of the Migadahara plataeu... 'Hannoki' and 'Shomyo'."

His other paused for a moment, as though nodding in understanding. " _...I see_ ," the spirit muttered after a moment. " _...It sounds like those were happy memories_ ," he finally said after a few more pauses, sounding almost depressed about the fact from where his mind resided.

"They were," he said somewhat plainly. The boy smiled somewhat as the memory became clearer, before briefly closing his eyes in thought. "But you know... I'm not upset about what happened," Yugi told his other, walking onward through the path as quiet birds chirped in the distance. "If none of that happened," he continued as the smile grew, "I'd have never found this puzzle... And even with all that happened as a result," he stated plainly, "I'll always be glad that I met you, 'Other Me'."

The spirit seemed to be rather caught off guard by the statement, a wave of what was probably nervousness rushing out abruptly. " _..N...Nn... Of course..._ " Hahaha...

He still didn't feel better. Yugi smiled somewhat sadly, pausing in his trek to stare at the sky. He didn't tend to drop things like that easily... His 'other' was strong yes, but he was easily guilted when it came to himself, and his friends. They both had their sore points really...

And in this case, they probably shared. "...Where are we 'really'?" he found himself asking after a few more moments in silence, expression falling somewhat more into depression as the subject was changed. The last thing he remembered, after the gas knocked them out, was shouting at the Big five...

They'd taken Anzu after Jonouchi, followed by Shizuka, Honda, Otogi, each calling out each other's name, each ignoring the first 'slip' Kaiba herself had made earlier on...

And when they'd all fallen she'd seen no use in hiding her voice any more, simply turning on the looming shadows in rage.

' _You SCUM!_ ' Kaiba had roared, voice sounding oddly more powerful in its natural form than its disguised tones. ' _You pathetic SCUM!_ ' Mokuba had run toward the woman at that... He'd realized they were likely next, and didn't want to be separated. But as he ran the hole opened below the pair, the boy falling forward with a panicked shout.

_'N-Nee-sama!_ '

_'Gh- No!'_

And they were gone. But more importantly...

He was alone. _'What do you want with us?_ ' he'd asked them in his final moments, watching as shadows danced and cackled before him. ' _What do you want?_ '

_'We already told you that,_ ' they'd sneered, the boy's eyes widening in response. And then he'd fallen...

Fallen into a dark realm, with nothing but a screen to show for it. A screen identical to that of the 'stat window' from the Virtual game they'd played in before, with the black leather gauntlets and oil-stained shirt staring back. And after touching that screen, falling through the darkness with a shout...

He'd appeared here on the grounds of Mount Tate, within his own fond memories. Yugi found himself narrowing his eyes in thought as he recounted all of this briefly, the boy only loosely holding his weapon now. Where... Where could they be, _really_ he wondered before finally speaking. Where...

"...Other me?" he called out, the spirit's presence already accounted for at the back of his mind. "Do you think... Do you think you could try seeing where our body is?" he asked, lowering his head to stare forward.

" _Our body?_ " the ghost repeated, likely crossing his arms at the moment in his confusion.

"Yeah; we've managed to extend the distance by a lot haven't we?" he added, a small smile on his face. "I mean... There's Kaiba-san's airship for one," the boy began, quite vividly recalling the sudden vertigo he'd felt as a result of his 'other' opting to attempt the 'air-ship loop' regardless of warning. "And there's also a few of the skyscrapers along our bus route..." In fact, they'd been utilizing the latter quite a lot since then; being able to scout for the bus was a useful trait, and meant that he'd been able to get more things done while they switched back and forth to check. They could probably visit Jonouchi at separate times as a result even, though given all that was going on it would probably be best to hold that back. Besides- what was important now was this. "I suppose what I'm trying to say... Is that if we can manage that," he stated with a swallow, "Then maybe..."

" _Hnn..._ " The other Yugi seemed to frown with consideration, before slowly nodding. " _Well, in theory we wouldn't need to get too far from our body so... ...I suppose I'll try,_ " he decided, presence fading from the back of his mind a moment. " _I'll be right back._ " Phew... Okay then. 'Trying' was really all he could ask for after all, so really, that was perfectly fine by him.

Yugi began to walk yet again, passing a few trees as he waited for his response. There wasn't much else to see on the trail. The sound of the falls was growing louder, and with a sudden jolt there was again another self in the back of his mind. "Ah-! That was quick!" he announced alarmingly, blinking his confusion off as his other self 'nodded'. "How come..."

" _That... Well, while we have admittedly improved our 'extension',_ " the spirit admitted, " _It would seem it doesn't help here. Unfortunately you see, I was only able to make it an inch from the body; and I don't mean by sitting out of it either,_ " he continued with a frown. " _I literally mean 'an inch', if not an actual 'centimetre'; I was effectively a mirror of our body,_ " the boy explained, arms crossed in annoyance, " _And even then, I was only there a few moments before becoming locked within the confines of my soul-room_." Locked-

"You were locked in?" he repeated, eyes wide. Within his own soul? But why would that...

" _That's right_ ," his other responded, shaking his head. " _I did catch a glimpse of the real world of course, but I doubt it's useful,_ " he continued with a sigh. " _All I could see were the insides of the last VR pod we were in, and through the glass, a metal ceiling... Nothing to identify the location at all,_ " the boy muttered, quite clearly upset about not proving more useful after all the practice they had done.

"Hnn... At least we know we're in the Virtual World," he muttered, shaking his head as the pair continued on. "With how real all of this is tt's easy to forget... Or at least not realize that this isn't 'magic' of some sort, like Dark Bakura's game board..."

The other Yugi again seemed to nod, frowning as he skipped over the latter topic. " _Yes... Well, with science and magic as advanced as they are now,_ " he explained somewhat wisely, " _It's a little difficult to decide which has a tighter hold on reality now..._ " That was true. Magic was a 'hidden' art now, feared and considered myth. But while science and technology had their pluses, the majority of their 'adventures' hinged on it anyways. " _...Still... The question is,_ " the other Yugi muttered, " _How did Noa obtain these pods..?_ " Ah-

Yugi blinked, frowning somewhat. That was a good question. Kaiba had looked as though she planned to destroy all the devices piece by piece before she kept them, but for the moment he wasn't sure that was the answer. Instead as he turned the corner to change the subject, he found himself freezing and staring with wide eyes. "Ah... The river..."

His other was well stared, taking advantage of their somewhat shared sensations in confusion. " _...I wasn't aware Japan had such large rivers,_ " the spirit of the puzzle commented, Yugi merely blinking slowly as he pieced together an answer.

"I... We don't," he responded, stepping toward the side of the bank. The river they stood before was enormous in size, the falls that it created roaring with enough force to rival niagara. It was more than evident that these falls were neither Hannoki or Shomyo but..."It must have been enlarged by the game..." Increased in size by Noa's hands, length, depth, power... "But why?" he found himself asking, traveling along the sides with a frown. "I mean... Even the trails are different, I shouldn't be able to get this close..."

" _Not to mention that_ ," his other stated as they turned, looking down the river with near identical frowns. ...Yes...

Yes, there was 'that' too he told himself, swallowing as he came to the edge of the falls. Standing about ten feet from him and another five from the falls edge themselves, were a series of ropes. The ropes each streamed to the middle point between himself and the falls to embed themselves in the ground and river both, each one pulled taught and strung with an alarming amount of protective seals. At the center of these ropes, each one about as thick as two of his fingers held together in the meantime, was an enormous spear, greenish in hue and bladed on both ends.

" _...Just what is that?_ " his other asked, Yugi stepping forward to look at the ropes and weapon with a frown.

"I looks almost like a 'sealed object'," he stated after a moment, "Like in video games and myths... Normally I would say it's better to avoid them," he added, pulling one of the ropes somewhat close before releasing it with a twang, "But in games, often the stupidest idea is the only right way forward..."

" _Even if it involves unleashing great evil then?_ " the 'Other' questioned, Yugi looking back at the spear.

"Pretty much," he said with a laugh, scratching his head. "I guess that without chaos, there isn't much of an adventure. In any case..."

The boy pulled at the rope, before raising the boomerang up in his hands and tearing it through the string swiftly. The rope fell limp into the water with ease, and though an odd breeze passed by them about that moment, it seemed as though the tear had effected nothing. Yugi looked around in silence for a few moments in case there was more, eventually squashing back the unease and continuing on.

"We might as well cut these ropes down," he decided, moving onto the next one before habitually turning 'back' to where he'd come from. "After all," the boy began, "We-"

" _Erm... Aibou_?" his other asked, giving a slight cough. " _Didn't you cut that one..?_ "

The boy blinked, looking back at the rope he'd cut just previously only to jump. It had seemingly repaired, fibers rewinding into the charmed rope he'd seen before and each thread appearing as dry as it had been to start. "It... It repaired!" he shouted in alarm, stepping back from the shore somewhat as he stared.

" _And not just that one either_ ," the spirit muttered, Yugi looking back at the second one he'd just recently cut. It too had woven itself back into place, leaving the sealed spear as intact as he found it and pulsing just as dangerously. " _It looks as though we'll have to cut it down all at once_ ," he continued, looking to the spear in suspicion. Hnnn. It seemed so...

Yugi nodded, stepping back somewhat as he unfolded his boomerang with a swallow. "Well... This should work then," he decided, pulling it back for a throw. "I just hope this doesn't end too badly!" he shouted. "Here goes... Other Me, wish me luck!"

The blade was tossed forward in an instant, Yugi watching as it tore through and carried with it the first few strings and moved on. He hoped this worked... " _As do I,_ " his other self muttered, both boys staring as the weapon tore along its path. " _Just remember that I'll be ready to help when needed,_ " he added, lighter half nodding in response. Five ropes left about the spear, and the boomerang was heading back...

Four... Three... Two...

"Ghn!" With the destruction of the last rope the strings seemed to swirl, water converging and rippling beneath the hovering spear in a small torrent of water. An old man's chuckling filled the air, and in a spray of water a green scaled hand tore upward to grab at the weapon in a tight grip. The strings attached whirled into one cord, twisting and pulling back on the weapon they held... They each wrapped about the handle of the boomerang and pulled it back to a folded position with a single smooth clack, the monster who'd caught it pulling it back with ease as he arose from the river's water to stand atop it with a smirk.

"Heh! And so our battle begins!" the monster cackled, bringing the cords to his teeth before ripping through with shark-like ferocity. With one quick toss the boomerang was thrown over the edge of the falls, Yugi swallowing in unease and fear both as he was disarmed. "Hnhnhahaha... As a loyal employee to Kaiba-Corp," the man explained darkly, "I merged with and bought out numerous others, using skill and abilities that none could contest with... I did my duties well, I did them in the name of the company, and I WILL do so once again! Mutou Yugi!" he roared over the sound of the falls, the boy swallowing as he realized just how much of a disadvantage he was at now. "I am the one formerly known as Oshita Konosuke... And I will be your opponent!" Ah...

Ahh..! This was one of the Big 5..! "You... But you're a duel monster!" he whispered in alarm, staring as the 'Deepsea Warrior' hovered above the river. "Why would you..."

"Hn! 'Observant' of you," Oshita snorted, gripping his spear tightly as he entered a psuedo fighting stance. "This monster you see here is my 'deck master'... As one without a body it has nothing to assimilate with," he explained, "Leaving its skills and its powers as my own. I lost my body," the old man snarled, again revealing shark-like teeth behind the curved black visor he wore. "This is all I have left... But soon enough I'll reduce you to the same state, taking yours as my own to return to the real world! The youth I'll experience again... This 'second life' I'll have," the man continued with a grin. "I think I'll quite like it, even with such a ridiculous appearance," he chuckled, Yugi tensing as the laughter echoed about the arena. Gh- Ridiculous? Just what was it that was so wrong about his hair! "Do you know what's even better though?" Oshita announced, twirling the spear in his hands. "Soon enough, four others of your comrades will be host to mine... We'll all be 'young' again," he went on with a laugh, "All of us, all while exacting our vengeance simultaneously! Incredible! HnHaHAHA!"

Gh... " _Not good_ ," his other whispered, Yugi swallowing as he stepped back from the river's edge. " _We barely know how this game works,_ " he went on darkly, " _But if they've split us up like this they'll target the weak duelists first... Especially if this game still compensates for physical ability,_ " he continued, his friend growing pale. Gh...

"Then, Mokuba, Otogi, and Honda... All the others," he continued, narrowing his eyes as the words sank in.

The boy's other self tensed, nodding somewhat as he growled. " _We have no choice,_ " he muttered, staring at their opponent through his partner's eyes. "W _e'll just have to beat this man down and follow whatever path that takes us on until we find them again!_ "

"Right!" No choice... They had to fight! "I might not like this," he muttered, before taking a somewhat defensive stance from the shore, "But we don't have much choice... Are you ready other me?" he asked, pulling up as much of the martial arts from his PE class as he could to his mind while taking the stance.

" _I am... Are you sure you wish to do this fight yourself?_ " the spirit added worriedly, his partner nodding almost fiercely.

"Of course; you've duelled enough for today," he continued, subconsciously glancing to the side his partner would ordinarily stand. "Take a rest, alright?"

The spirit seemed to give off a strong feeling of unease at that, nonetheless nodding in response. " _...Alright._ " As the spirit's presence vanished from his mind Oshita seemed to stare, a grin coming over what little of his face the boy could see.

"Well well," the old man sneered, voice contrasting the slim form of the scaled warrior considerably as he spoke. "So it will be the 'Type A' Yugi that I fight then?" he asked, his opponent narrowing his eyes with a combined look of slight fear. "Hn! Before we start, you're required to create your deck... You might not use it against smaller monsters," Oshita growled, "But this will be more than a 'fight'! It will be a battle of strategy!" he roared. "And one that requires far more than sword play! For you especially, these duels are mandatory!"

"Gh..." The boy continued to tense, gritting his teeth as he looked toward the warrior. "How do you even know about the other me!" he shouted, not shifting from his stance as he held a hand out in a weak pose. "'Type A' me... That's what you're referring to isn't it?"

The warrior continued to smirk vilely from across him, chuckling at the question. "Who else could it possibly be?" he shouted with a grin, eyes unseen from beneath the visor. "It would be foolish to enter a battle without researching my opponent wouldn't you think? 'Know all and win all', as I like to say! Now," he continued, waving the spear as an enormous and dome-like screen appeared around the boy. Various lights seemed to shimmer about him, filling the boy's vision as Oshita's voice bounced across it. "Choose your cards and deckmaster... And keep in mind that without your weapon," he laughed, "You'll be relying completely on your cards, and nothing else!" Ngh... Damn it. Yugi swallowed from behind the screen, watching as various cards hovered around him. These cards...

Old and new they were all the cards in existence with the exclusion of the Gods. From Kuriboh to the Dark Magician of Chaos, to the more recent 'White Horn Dragon'... He should probably make something similar to his old deck then he told himself, but in addition to that...

Some of these cards were ones he and his other Yugi had been looking at before, at the large department store's card section. Ones they had planned to save for, and add to their deck. Perhaps he told himself, if they added those...

The boy found himself tapping at the cards, each one slowly vanishing from sight to reveal holes in the dome. With each card the holes grew. They created a stained glass mosaic of sorts, shimmering light reflecting about him. In the end with a strange 'speckled' cage around him he nodded his head, swallowing back the wave of unease he felt in lieu of beginning the fight. "Alright... I've completed my deck!" he shouted, the 'cage' vanishing in response.

"Good," Oshita announced, appearing oddly patient when it came to the time it had taken. "And your deck master..?" Ahh... The monsters of his deck hovered before him on screens, the boy frowning in response. Right he told himself, deck masters... They were supposed to 'fuse' with one of the monsters. Well. He knew he had to pick one of course, but he didn't have much time to really decide now. There was Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Baphomet... Watapon, Curse of Dragon... There were so many monsters he told himself, but how was he supposed to know their ability?

" _Perhaps we should go with something familiar_ ," his other whispered, Yugi staring at the cards as his eyes were briefly drawn to the first few he'd spotted. " _The Dark Magician maybe?_ " Maybe... The boy stared at the Magician in question, frowning somewhat. But... For some reason, that one didn't seem right for this match...

Instead... "I choose... Kuriboh," Yugi announced, both his other self and his opponent jumping as the screen vanished. Briefly the form of the monster appeared before him, a loud 'kurii!' squealing through the air before it vanished into light. Around his arms and shins came furred gauntlets and greaves, each tipped with golden claws as the light spread. The boy's hair became more wild, even 'brownish' in appearance, almost similar to his other's own as his eyes as well gained an odd sheen to them. The vest became furred, nails sharpened, goggles appeared over his brow... Pupils even became slit, his vision seeming to increase in ability as he looked forward. Despite this however he couldn't help but feel somewhat weaker, the boy unconsciously rubbing at his shoulder as his opponent stared.

"Ku... Kuriboh!" Oshita shouted incredulously, before bursting into laughter. "HAHAHAHA! AHAAAA! Well now," the man howled loudly, "It looks like this battle will be easier than I thought! It's true that 'the weapon is only as good as the wielder'," he continued with a laugh, "But even those rules have limits! I don't even need to use this spear to defeat you," the man snarled, grin growing with ferocity as he gestured toward it. "I'll simply summon an army and watch as you destroy yourself!" What? Destroy himself? Yugi frowned, swallowing as his opponent continued on with a sneer. "Of course... You'd have to reach me first to lay any form of damage," he was saying with a grin, both of the Yugis narrowing their eyes with the knowledge. "And with your weapon gone, that will prove difficult, won't it..?" Gh..!

So then getting rid of the boomerang had been part of some sort of plan!

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Here... I'll set a monster in defense," he announced, rippling appearing beneath the waves as the beast's card shimmered beneath the surface. "Who knows what it'll be... But if you attempt even the slightest move against me," the warrior warned with a smirk, "This shield will take the blow."

Hng... Perhaps. But there had to be more. More to this move, more to why Oshita was going through with the duel rather than trying to fight. This was a completely basic move, a simple stall strategy... A monster in defense to be cautious. So why did he feel 'off'? Uneasy? "Hng... Draw!" he shouted, moving about the shore of the river in slow and pacing motions as he kept his eye on the ripples. All questions aside, he needed to get rid of that monster if he was going to get his weapon back from over the falls; Shomyo was 'three tier' after all, so there was a chance it landed partway down the cliff... More importantly he needed to be as ready to bolt as possible, ready to jump for an opening to the falls, to jump away from an attack...

He needed 'help'. Six cards were embedded into his mind, six cards that he knew were in his 'hand' despite both being empty as he stared toward his opponent. Monsters, spells, traps...

"I summon the Retrained Elf Swordsman!" he cried, throwing his hand forward abruptly. Sparks of electricity seemed to fly from the hand, forming a screen before cracking into a shower of pixels. The pixels converged, folded into each other, forming armor and cloth, and as the warrior swung his sword forward its summoner pointed the elf toward his opponent. "I might not be able to reach you," Yugi announced with a frown, "But I know that he can! ATTACK!" he announced, the elf charging forward with a nod.

Though unable to walk across the water as their opponent could the retrained elf was certainly agile enough to complete his task. Leaping into the air he dove toward the rippling location on the water, sword spearing the card it hid completely. Water burst from the glass-like card, the swordsman hurriedly pushing off from the bird-like creature that surfaced before he was taken below with it. The water was dyed red as the bird's corpse floated...

But within seconds it was taken by the river's current, the water cleared of the blood and again smooth save for the torrent beneath the 'Deep Sea Warrior'. 'Ashinigray'... That was a fairly weak monster though he told himself, so why did Oshita summon- "Heh!" A short laugh came from across the boy, Yugi and his swordsman both narrowing their eyes in suspicion. "Ashinigray's effect activates," Oshita shouted, pointing forward with a grin. "When flip-summoned in any manner, the player must discard one card," he continued, the boy across him jumping as his hand appeared before him.

"Ack-" The screen flashed intermittently, an odd light glowing near the bottom of the five cards sitting in view. 'Choose 1 Card' the menu stated, voice almost monotone in the usual 'female' computer voice. Choose one card... "...This one then," he decided as he tapped the screen, the 'Exchange' card vanishing from sight before his hand returned to the back of his mind. He didn't think there would be anything in Oshita's hand to help really but...

At this Oshita continued to grin, crossing his arms while his opponent frowned. "Hehehehehe... In that case," the man stated with a smirk, "Allow me to continue my move; when Ashinigray is destroyed," he explained, a shimmering 'glass' pane again appearing beneath the water, "I am also allowed to special summon another in face-down defense mode... And since it's now my turn," the man continued, baring his shark-like teeth to his opponent, "I'll not only flip-summon him to discard another of your cards, but I'll summon a second monster, Ipiria, whose own effect allows me to draw yet another card!" Tch...Yugi continued to grimace as the two monsters both rose from the river, the 'ashinigray' flapping above and the lizard 'Ipiria' merely content to poke his eyes atop the water. "Don't feel so bad," Oshita was announcing, opponent biting his lip as he tossed away 'De-Spell' from the menu that appeared. "After all it's only natural I should gain the upper hand... An Italian and political mind of the Renaissance once said that 'there are three specific conditions for success. First, seize chance," he began, gesturing to the field with a dark gaze. "The second," he went on in continued gesture, "Utilize the abilities at hand... As for the third... Well..."

The man trailed off, leaving Yugi to stare at both the Ashinigray and bearded Ipiria as the two returned the gaze with wide and bulging eyes. Ashinigray was in 'defense mode' of course. It was hovering near its master, ready to take an attack should anything happen. Ipiria however was swimming through the river, lips peeling back to reveal retractable teeth as Yugi grew pale. He had no weapons. The elf could easily take it out for him, but if that lizard moved as quick on land as it did in the water...

_'End turn_ ,' Oshita had called out, a card abruptly appearing in Yugi's mind for his draw. Ah... Baphomet. Wait... The boy's eyes widened as he looked over his hand, before a small and fairly 'other Yugi'-like smirk came over his face. Of course! In the last turn he didn't have monsters that could make it further than a few feet from shore. But if he used something like this, he could easily get to the falls, and at the same time take out a large number of Oshita's life points!

"I play the spell polymerization!" he announced, raising his hands and charging forward as the spiral appeared behind him. "Summoning two monsters from my hand in the form of Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" he roared, both Baphomet and Gazelle vanishing from his mind as sparks flew and scattered from the spiral. The boy leaped into the air as the monster formed, gripping the horns of one of the heads as the monster continued to charge. "And now," he continued, Chimera taking to the skies by a considerable amount as 'Ipira' attempted to attack, "Activating the spell Quick Attack," the boy roared, "He makes his move! Attack Ipiria!" he commanded, the monster diving forward as Yugi swallowed. "And while I do that..."

Carefully and nervously he stood on the monster's back, coming closer and closer toward the ground. Two seconds left...

One...

Pushing off from the lion's head as it came near to the ground he dove forward, easily passing over his opponent with outstretched arms. The falls were just behind his opponent, and if he made it there while Chimera distracted him, and if he was able to retrieve his boomerang...

But as he fell toward the edge of the falls a wave of water struck him from behind, knocking him off course and forcing him to grab at the cliff. Hands flailed, and from above a sword fell toward him...

And as he looked up, grabbing the sword and falling back, he could see the water destroy the elf completely.

"Activate my effect!" Oshita had roared, his opponent barely managing to catch the cliff with the swords as it sparked and skidded down the side. "By sacrificing two of my monsters," he continued, voice drowned out by the sound of falling water and scraping stone, "All battle damage is reflected on the opponent!" Gh...

Water burns seared through his back in response to the attack dealt, Yugi weakly attempting to pull himself up and loosen the sword from the cliff wall. The elf... It wasn't dead yet. It was in this blade, he told himself, in the sword... He could feel it, even from in a computer...

"Gh..." He just needed to get the blade out, and get to solid ground... "Ngh..." Just... Needed to get himself out he told himself, weakly pulling his arms over the flat of the blade. Just...

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Uh-oh... "Attempting to run?" a voice hissed, Yugi turning to the side to pale considerably as his eyes met with the source.

'Standing' in the middle of the waterfall his opponent leered, nasty grin permanently placed on his face as he raised his spear. The waters had converged around him completely, enveloping him to his waist to make it appear as though he had simply risen from the stone itself. Amid this however nothing was more terrifying than the detail of the sharks teeth he could see in the man's mouth.

"Perhaps you should have studied great thinkers as I had! The third condition for success is this after all!" he shouted with a grin, adjusting his spear and hurling it forward with a cackle. "Tempting the enemy into their own destruction!"

H-HAH! Without another thought the boy somehow swung himself up on the sword, the spear passing beneath him as he looked toward his opponent. Wobbly feet stood on the blade, Yugi quickly spotting a bit of cliff wall to grab on in his panic. "Ngh... That may be true!" he managed to shout, moving his grip to the cliff as he forced his blade out from the stone, "But that doesn't mean I'm giving in! You don't have any monsters to defend you anymore," he continued, holding the blade forward and kicking off from the cliff's wall to run along the rocks. "Which means I... Rather, the Elf Swordsman," he roared determinedly, "Can attack directly!"

The grin fell immediately as he charged forward, Oshita left without even a weapon to block the strike. "Gh- The elf!" The monster stumbled back as Yugi brought the sword down on his opponent, before a vicious grin appeared over the warrior's face. From the seas rose another monster to come between the two, a strange and haired lizard gripping the sword in his hands. He should have fallen by now...

One would think that the monster's hands would be bleeding at least, but instead Yugi found himself screaming as he was thrown back by the sword itself. "H-Hhah..! HHHAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Falling, falling, falling..! Fingers and sword both scrambled at the sides of the cliff as he fell, before finally the boy skidded to a stop. His sword was dangling almost loosely in his free hand as the stones dug into the sliced and torn tips of his other, the boy staring at his hand in fear. Blood spilt freely over the rocks and slowly dripped down, with Yugi looking down at the extended length of the falls with a swallow. "Gh... Not good..." The falls had already been 350 meters tall...

Did it have to be taller? "It's my turn again!" Oshita sneered from his position, looking over the blood that Yugi's attack had spilt on his own form. "As you can see," he shouted clearly, ignoring the gaping wound on his chest, "By taking over 1000 points of damage from that attack, I was able to special summon this monster to my side; Ruklamba!" he announced, the lizard grinning from its master's side, "The Spirit King! More importantly," Oshita continued loudly, "For my turn, I summon another monster, 'Yowie', in attack mode!" A second lizard poked its head from the river's water's, six insect like legs taking grip on the nearby stones. "Yowie also has an effect," its master announced, Yugi swallowing from where he gripped the wall. "Preventing you from taking your draw next turn... Moreover, by sacrificing 800 of my lifepoints," the man explained coldly, "I can activate Pre-Mature Burial, bringing Ipiria back from the dead in attack mode!" One, two, three...

Yugi's eyes widened briefly, the boy shrinking back as much as he could while hanging from a cliff. S...So many... "You... You..." The boy squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth as a powerful wave of fear came over him. "All you do is defend! You never attack! How can you win like that?" he asked, shaking his head as the monsters began creeping toward him from the falls. "How!"

"It's quite easy," Oshita muttered with a smirk, the warrior as well beginning to rise from the fall's side. "After all, a defense is the strongest way to fight off an attack... But to maintain such a defense at all times, 'it's too troublesome', or so people say... And so few know of the true power behind it, of the power they so misunderstand... But you," he continued, sneering as his army stood around him. "You'll understand soon enough," he chuckled, opponent swallowing in unease. "Perhaps now you're still unsure... Still under the naive belief that you'll escape this place and that you'll win," Oshita continued, his opponent continuing to flush and pale as he struggled to hold his slipping grip. "But those are childish thoughts, from a childish boy with nothing on his mind but games and toys! And it is thoughts such as that which will bring your end," he roared, "Which will allow me to win! So what's wrong?" he called out, holding his hands out toward the boy with a grin. "Are you frozen with fear? Or are you simply quaking under the truth? You should never have come here, and you should have known that long ago! Because this domain... This is the realm of 'warriors', such as your 'Type B' self," the man sneered, Yugi bowing his head as tears began to fall. "Not for 'children'..." Gh... Ghn...

"Stop..." His hand was on fire. If he tightened his grip it hurt even more, but if he loosened it the blood would make him slip. "...Stop..." There were so many monsters across from him, so many who could attack while he was in this prone position. And if he attacked, he didn't know what would happen as a result, with nothing but the Elf Swordsman's blade in his hand and Chimera looming above. He didn't know if Chimera could catch something under the water... Didn't know if he'd move in time. So...

So... He... " _Aibou_ ," a calm voice whispered, the boy looking up with a jolt. " _Calm yourself_ ," the spirit of his other half continued, his 'light' sniffing somewhat as he bit back the pain. " _I believe in you and your choices this fight... And that's all that matters, isn't it?_ "

"Other me..." All that mattered... As he continued to stare he realized why he'd been able to grip the ledge, the second tier of the falls meeting his eyes. This... "...Right," he said clearly, steeling himself with a swallow. With shaking limbs he pulled himself up, adjusting his grip on the sword and looking toward his opponent. "In that case... Even with all these monsters there!" he roared, hopping along the various foot holds of the waterfall as he somehow ran along the sides, "I'll still attack! HaaaaaAA _AAAAHHH_!" Wait...

Wasn't he forgetting something? "Heh!" Yugi's opponent snorted as he came near, two of the monsters guarding him now appearing translucent and aqueous in form. "My effect activates!" the monster announced, arms still crossed as Yugi was charged by the water-like beasts, "REFLECTOR HOLE!"

"Gh- GHNAA _AAAAAAAHHH_!" Torrents of water burst from the monsters, sending him back in a wave of pain. "GRNAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Friction burns scattered his front and as he hit the water, plummeting toward the bottom, it only increased tenfold. Water... He was underwater... The boy's eyes widened as he pushed past the pain, grabbing at his throat as he attempted to swim upward. "Mmm... Mmmngg..! MMMN!" Drowning... He was going to drown here! "MMNNGGGH!" He was under water, if he tried to breathe, if he couldn't breathe, he'd- "MngG... GhaaaaAAH!"

He'd...

"Hah... ...Hah... ...Hah..." Yugi's chest raised and lowered as he again sank beneath the large 'bowl' at the bottom of the falls, swallowing painfully as he brought a hand to his throat. Impossible... He could... "I... I can breathe?" he whispered questioningly, slowly blinking as he sat up. Roars sounded from above, the noise faded and almost more of a dull whisper. Chimera couldn't enter the river or go underwater of course, but even if he could, Yugi wouldn't have seen him, let alone heard him clearly. The water was too murky. Too clouded to see beyond the first foot or so of his blade, which was laying beside him as he grabbed at the hilt.

Dark. Despite the light illuminating the 'smog' around him, it was so dark... A rush of water passed from behind, the boy swiftly turning with his blade at the ready. Nothing was there. He couldn't see, it was just nothing but brown-yellow all around, but even so he knew that something that was 'there' no longer was. Another rush of water from behind and again he turned, looking around with wide and panicked eyes as the process repeated about itself.

_'How does it feel?_ ' Oshita was muttering, voice distorted and echoed by the waters around him as he turned. _'The damage dealt by your own hand..? You won't last much longer_ ,' the warrior chuckled, sound echoing painfully around the boy. ' _Not after that..._ '

"Gh... Show yourself!" he shouted, eyes wide with fear. "Where are you!"

' _Poor little 'Yugi'... Almost out of highschool and he looks the same age as his friend's little brother_!' Gh- He didn't look- ' _So weak... You're NOTHING!_ ' Oshita spat, ' _Nothing but a weak little boy hiding behind his shadow!_ ' Shad-

"Stop that!" he shouted with grit teeth, turning to where the voice had come from again to find nothing. "Stop!"

' _Are you afraid?_ ' the opponent asked, Yugi shuddering as he backed away from the 'source'. ' _Are you scared? Of losing, of dying perhaps? Don't be... You should have seen it coming after all,_ ' he chuckled, his opponent breathing laborously as he searched for the fish-man. ' _As a General of Prussia once said, 'The master of loss knows well when he's lost again, before the battle has even begun'..._ '

"Gh... You..." 'Master of loss'? He wouldn't lose! He wasn't... But he couldn't see. He couldn't attack, he couldn't see, he couldn't do anything, and if Oshita took him out now..!

" _Aibou_!" his other half whispered quickly, snapping the boy from his panicked stupor. " _The goggles..!_ " The goggles? But they were probably filled with water and if that was the case how were they going to wor- " _Do it anyways,_ " the spirit shouted from the back of his mind, " _Trust me!_ " T...

...Alright... But...

As Yugi pulled the goggles down he could hear Oshita's voice again, the boy's eyes squeezed shut as he attempted to block the sound out. ' _So Yugi?_ ' he asked, the boy before him slowly opening his eyes as his hearing and vision cleared to a completely cleaned river. "...Do you surrender?"

"Aaaaaaa... AAAAHHH! HA _AAAAAAH_!" The boy stumbled back in shock as large and unblinking red eyes met his, wide, fish-like, pupil-less and set on a scaled green face. Beneath the water the warrior had no use for his glass visor; he saw as well as any other creature born to the seas, and didn't need something like goggles. Unlike above where his eyes were sensitive, this was his domain...

And as Yugi fell back in fear the monster grinned, shark's teeth making the image all the more frightening as he struggled to breathe.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... That body is as good as mine," the monster sneered, 'Ruklamba' swimming around him in a swirl with matching expression. "While you were swimming in panic I was able to make my move... While you cowered in fear I brought two more monsters to the field, with Ruklamba's effect and now I'm ready to attack! Watch!" he roared with a grin, pointing a second monster forward as Yugi swallowed. "Melchid the Four-Faced Beast attacks the Retrained Swordsman!" A-Attacks the swordsman!

Yugi hurriedly brought his sword up in defense as a large 'clawed' egg tore through the waters above, his feet skidding back from the force to leave deep trails in the thick mud. The attack was blocked... Mostly. Yugi's eyes widened with horror as he looked over the blade, staring down at where he'd been pushed up along the river bed. Cracks were appearing along the blade as it blocked Melchid's claws, the sword seeming to almost glow in protest to the blow. This...

This... "I don't even need my weapon to destroy you," Oshita sneered from across him, the blade brightening to a blinding extent as Yugi shut his eyes. "This monster is enough even for you!"

"G-GAAA _AAAAAAHH_!" In an instant the blade exploded, shards of metal embedding themselves in his skin as he was launched from the waters. The goggles flew back on his face with cracks in the lenses, the sword's hilt vanishing from his hand in a shower of pixels as he was left with a burn. Sharp pain rushed through his body as he landed on the rocks on shore, coughing and moving his goggles up to a more comfortable position as he weakly gripped the stone he landed on. "Un... Unggh..."

More coughing escaped him. The boy slowly looked up, pulling himself to his feet and biting his lip in tear-filled agony before turning his attentions to the falls. His opponent was there again...

Standing at the very top, arms crossed with a sneer on his face. "Y-You..." Chimera roared as its master returned, flying to Yugi's side as the boy continued to stare forward. All along the falls monsters had appeared, with their master rising to the second tier to stand by his fallen weapon. Melchid, Ruklamba, the 'Wall of Illusion'...

And below them... "My boomerang," he whispered in disbelief, blood draining as he realized how far from him the weapon was. This was bad. Really bad...

"So you can still stand," Oshita sneered, visor again in place as he stood above the roaring waters. "Truly a pity... It seems I'll just have to beat you down until that body is mine! 'The crown of honor belongs only to the winner' after all... And 'the ends justify the means'!" he roared with a laugh, smirking as the quote was given. "So said a Prussian General, along with this; 'In good times, morale can be improved... But in bad times," he continued darkly, "Your power will simply be gone'... It doesn't take much, to realize what 'time' this is..." More quotes, more quotes...

Just what was his power? How... How was he able to do all of this? Yugi swallowed as he stood on the rocky banks, staring upward in nervous fear. No weapons, no way to attack... The 'Wall of Illusion' would return any monster that attacked back into his hand... And even if he did attack Oshita would just activate his effect, killing him before he even had a chance to catch a break. He... He...

A card appeared in the back of his mind, one that arrived just as it came to his turn to draw. 'Rainbow Blessing', his mind told him, the description of the spell following with. If he had a monster on the field, he could attack directly using this... But until then, and until the wall wasn't there to simply ruin that opportunity...

"I'm not giving up!" he managed to shout hoarsely, despite the cuts and gashes across his body. He could hear cries from his 'other' in the back of his mind, begging him to switch out. But as he'd said before, he wasn't going to do that. "I'm still fighting!" he announced, waving his hand as a flat and nearly translucent panel appeared to his side. "I set a card face down... And I end my turn," the boy finished, Chimera growling threateningly beside him before crouching to a defensive pose. Now...

What to do about this effect. "My turn then," Oshita was saying with a grin, a screen never once appearing with his 'cards'. A similar 'glass panel' appeared at his side, bandages tearing forth as Yugi ducked. "First," his opponent announced, "The card Offerings to the Doomed, destroying your Chimera!"

With those very words the bandages wrapped about Chimera completely, pulling it into the panel before disappearing under the waves of the waterfall. The monster's effect still activated of course... Baphomet or Gazelle would take Chimera's place now, just as soon as he made the decision between the two. But before he did make the decision Oshita had something else to say, something else that caught Yugi's eyes and filled him with horror. Or rather, something he _did_ was what filled him with such fear.

"Wall of Illusion and Mechlid are sacrificed!" the man announced darkly, the beasts scattering into light as Yugi silently made his decision for fear of death. "Summoning the Rainbow Snake Eingana!" Ei...

Ein...

"ATTACK!"

Water burst from the river at the side with the beast's summoning, Yugi ducking under as mist and spray filled the air. Coated with iridescent scales Eingana towered above him, blocking his opponent from view, and it wasn't pleased. At his side stood Baphomet, the demon having successfully been summoned in defense mode... But it was all for naught and despite the enormous, oversized fangs of the beast it was easy to see what would happen. "Hng... No! Baphomet..!"

"That's right!" Oshita roared, cackling as his serpent swallowed the monster whole. Baphomet's legs and arms flailed as the monster was tossed into the air, wings injured by the snakes fangs and unable to grant it escape. Eingana was pleased now. It had its fill, and it did its master's bidding. But now... "Now," Oshita announced, "With your defenses left wide open, Ruklamba attacks directly!" No...

No..! The boy closed his eyes and continued to cringe, biting his lip. It couldn't...

No! There had to be something else! Something else he could do! Something-

" _ACTIVATE EFFECT_!"

A thundering voice rang through the air, the boy opening his eyes with a jolt. The... The other...

Him? Yugi's eyes widened as the voice seemed to echo off the mist in the air, his gaze widening further as his vision was filled with a swarm of kuriboh. "T-This..."

"Kuriboh's ability as deck master!" the other Yugi announced, still nowhere to be seen among the swarm of fur-balls, "While on the field, just once per match!" he continued with a snarl, "A single direct attack can be negated!"

"That voice..." The monster across from them glowered, clenching his fists in rage as the kuriboh slowly began to fade. "Impossible... This can't be! The 'Type B Yugi!" One of the kuriboh turned, winking somewhat as the others slowly disappeared in Ruklamba's blast. It looked somewhat...

Different from the others, he noted. Though it was just as brown as the standard, there were tips that seemed more 'red' than brown, and its eyes... "A-Ah... O-Other me!" he managed to mutter, coughing with wide eyes. "Did you... How did you..?"

"Ahh... Well," the other Yugi muttered from the kuriboh, mouth mostly hidden by fur, "I had only intended to switch out and re-direct the attack, to give you a break," he admitted, sounding incredibly odd with his voice coming out of the beast. The 'monster' gestured to himself, shaking his 'head' as he sighed. "Instead... Well... It would appear the program didn't completely know what to do." He...

The other him tried to switch...

And got stuck in a kuriboh.

How..?

Yugi nodded, still clearly surprised but nonetheless steeling himself in lieu of more important things. "I understand... We can talk later. For now, we need to finish this!" he continued, turning toward the field with a swallow. "Got that?"

His other-self- the kuriboh it seemed- nodded, hovering by his side. "Of course!"

"You hear that, Oshita?" he shouted, confidence more or less renewed as he looked up toward his opponent. "We'll never give up! Even if we have to climb this waterfall to reach you!"

Oshita's response was, to say the least, more or less expected. "Hnhnhn...Hnhnha...HAHAHAHAHAA! OH! This is just WONDERFUL!" the man howled in response, holding his hea as he leaned back. "You wall is gone now, your only defense a kuriboh," he cackled with a laugh, "And you believe you can somehow win? In the next turn Eigana will attack," the warrior announced, the snake in question hissing threateningly. "And then, it'll all be over!" Hn...

So that was it then. But in all honesty the boy told himself, he didn't fell like it was. A card appeared in his mind, a card whose name and effect was burned into memory in an instant. This monster...

'Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight', a monster who could be special summoned when no others were in their hand. This monster... This was perfect! Yugi summoned the monster immediately as it came to his turn, waiting for the monster to appear it only to feel a rush of energy float over him. There was no room where they stood for another monster. No room for a horse and knight, or even simply a horse. In spirit and power Gaia was there however, and he was ready to fight along side his summoner.

"Oshita... You know a lot of things, don't you?" Yugi asked from beside his partner, the monstrous opponent appearing to frown in response. "Many quotes from many people... But knowing lines and experiencing the things that inspired them... Those are two completely different things!” he shouted up, light streaming from the card before the two as he continued. "'The crown of honor goes to the winner'... Oshita," he called out, jumping forward from the rock as his other-self followed, "That crown isn't yours to take! I activate my spell," he continued, the light wrapping around himself and his 'other' both as they briefly flew beside the other before merging once again. "Rainbow Blessing! Allowing the monster I summoned to attack directly," he roared, both himself and his other half making the attack from within the vessel. "HRRR _AAAAAAAAAHHH_!"

"Monster," Oshita roared, pulling as much water as possible about him while Yugi paused a moment at the first tier. "There's no other monster here! What sort of nonsense are you spouting!" he continued, blinded by the streams of colours now filling the air. There was no answer as the light bounced from the hovering mist, the warrior grinding his teeth as he lost sight of his target from below. There was nothing but a pastel rainbow, a ray of light... Nothing but a mist, surrounding him. "The 'crown of honor'... You cannot _win_ boy, you know this!" he spat in rage, "You-"

"I've already won," he said almost regretfully, the mist abruptly clearing from the field as Oshita slowly turned. Fear was more than evident in the fish-man's eyes, just slightly visible behind his visor in the blinding light.

"Y-You... How..."

"I summoned Swift Gaia, the Fierce Knight," Yugi explained, light seeming to emanate from every portion of his being in the remaining power of the 'Rainbow Blessing'. "But for some reason, the monster never came; I was the one attacking, Oshita. And now," he continued, the warrior growing pale as blood slowly seeped from a deep wound across his chest, "You're dead... I'm sorry," the boy stated, the garb he wore shimmering brilliantly in the light that filled the air as he bowed his head, "But you've lost." Oshita merely clutched at his wound, staring dully at the bloodied, three-bladed boomerang in Yugi's hands as he fell to his knees and gasped.

"You... You never aimed for me..."

"...No," the boy admitted, biting his lip. "All I needed was to defeat you, right?" he asked, eyes far betraying the impersonality he had attempted to use as a mask in front of the man. "All I needed... Was to reach past your monsters and grab my boomerang... I never expected to make it all the way up the falls in addition to that," he continued, shaking his head. "I never expected to make the hit before the boomerang opened..." Blood began to fall from Oshita's mouth... The mask across his face pulled back, and slowly the warrior began to fall toward the edge of the cliff.

"You... It looks like you taught me something, brat! Gkh... Gk..!" Ragged chokes met the air, blood dropping to the ground and staining his teeth as he growled. "You..." The man scowled, rage again filling his face as he gave his final words. "This isn't over... Boy..."

Time suddenly seemed to fall back in place with those words, with the disappearance of his opponent. As colours and fur blew off his armor, his appearance restored to normalcy Oshita's body toppled into the river below, and as it fell across each tier Yugi found himself staring over the side with dull eyes. The blood on his blade was cleaned off by water and the 'end game' both, and despite the fact that the cape appeared with his spell card it remained behind, dying itself in a colour to match his once more leathery clothes...

The energy from Gaia, along with the presence of the giant snake Eingana, had both vanished completely from the field, and in the absence of the rainbow's blinding light it seemed as though clouds had settled in. The fight was over he told himself, somehow managing to sheath his boomerang on his back before falling limp on his feet. It was...

_-patcht- -patcht- -patcht-_

...That sound...

...Clapping? Yugi slowly turned, eyes narrowing as they met with the form of 'Noa'. Now that he could see more than the face, his assumptions of the boy's age were immediately confirmed. The boy that stood before him was most certainly younger than himself, and not merely 'young' in appearance; yet while he was only barely shorter than Mokuba was, it seemed to him that Noa would be the older of the two. It was strange... He seemed to radiate both maturity and immaturity both, fluxuating between the two constantly. More importantly he told himself, staring at the light-haired child before him, this boy looking at him now more than ever cemented a resemblance to Kaiba.

"You... ...Noa," he said with a swallow, catching himself before he backed off the waterfall cliff.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... That's right..." Noa seemed to hover in mid air, a look across his face that far betrayed what dark intentions all those he'd trapped suspected. "I must congratulate you," he said with a smirk, stepping down from where he 'hovered' to walk over across the surface of the river. "Oshita, while a novice duelist," he admitted calmly, "Was still a master of strategy in his own right, a true 'threat'. Had you drawn any other monster," he added with a small narrowed grin, "You might have been killed..."

Yes... Yes he could have...

But just what was he doing, going on about that... "...What are you up to?" he asked, swallowing nervously as Noa continued to stare toward him. "All of this... Is this just a game to you?" he continued almost angrily, "Did you even intend for Oshita to win this fight?"

Noa merely smiled, shaking his head as he sighed. "Ahhh... Such concern, even for someone who just recently intended to kill you. An admirable trait," the boy said calmly, arms crossed loosely before his chest as he went on. "The sort of thing that makes yourself and your 'other' such great friends to all you know..." The sort of-

What..?

As Yugi narrowed his eyes in confusion the boy continued to chuckle, moving on with what he was saying. "There's you, the 'real Yugi'," he began, "Kind, trusting, loyal to a fault... Always forgiving, always willing to believe in those around you no matter what could have possibly happened... And then your 'other'," he continued with a somewhat sinister smile, "Strong, fierce... Always willing to fight for what is right, to fight for the justice of those close... It's a tight bond," he stated quite plainly, "But do they really return it?" the boy asked, Yugi tensing in response.

"Return..." He was trying to make him doubt his friends! "What are you getting at?" he shouted, eyes wide. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Me? I'm talking about your 'friends'," Noa whispered, vanishing into a mist only to reappear behind the boy at the edge of the falls. Yugi turned with a jump as the boy spoke once more, backing away in fear as he grit his teeth. "There's Anzu Mazaki," he started off, "Whose crushes on you or your other are never quite certain... There's Bakura, and his own 'other half', and who _knows_ what they're thinking," he chuckled, dark smirk in place as he again shifted to another location. "Then of course there's dear 'Kaiba-san', whose secrets you had to find from your own best friend... And I wonder," Noa continued with apparent curiosity, narrowing his eyes in mirth as Yugi struggled to find his appearing and disappearing form, "Who does Jonouchi care about more... You? Or 'Seto-chan'?" This... How...

Not only did he knew everyone's names, he knew about Kaiba... He... "How do you know all of this?" he whispered in horror, stepping back. "How..."

"Now now," the boy said with a smirk, misting closer to the boy with a grin. "That wasn't the question..."

Gh..! "You... It doesn't matter who he cares about more!" he shouted honestly, narrowing his eyes as he again backed away. "That's his choice, not mine! And no matter what that choice is," he continued with a shout, "He's still my friend! No matter what!" Noa's smirk shifted into an odd smile, the boy chuckling shortly as he turned away.

"Hnhhnhnhn... Ahhhh... The words of a 'true friend'," he said calmly, seeming to sigh in 'understanding'. "And honest words at that... They make me wish I had known someone like yourself all those years ago," he continued, Yugi frowning at the cryptic words. "But ahhh... Even I can't change the past. And besides," he continued, a door appearing at his side as he held out a hand, "There's something else I was supposed to do."

"Wh- ...A door?" his other asked in suspicion, Yugi as well narrowing his eyes.

"That's right," Noa said with a smirk, his target jumping as their unanswered questions were responded to. "More specifically," he explained, "This is the 'correct' one. Beyond this door lies the riddle to your friend's location," he continued, stepping to the side. "And beyond her location, that of the next one. But before you embark on this journey, I must warn you Yugi. Each path is fraught with danger, with secrets and nightmares formed from the depths of your friends minds. Their paths are out of my control," he continued, "And quite confusing at heart. So before you move on, consider this... Do you find yourself strong enough to break the defenses of your own friend's minds?" His friends..?

There was only one answer to that. And as he gave that response in the form of a nod, passing through the door, Noa continued to grin... Before the entirety of what lay behind Yugi's now closed exit vanished into nothing but zeroes, ones, and darkness.

* * *

Beyond the door there was nothing but darkness, a darkness that pressed upon them both and left a cold feeling of dread in its place. 'Kisara', who remained so silent as to remain somehow unnoticed by the siblings merely stood in the doorway as it closed shut in fact, and as Seto and Mokuba walked the woman found herself no so much frowning as looking around in unease with narrowed eyes. For some reason this place seemed familiar, more so now that the light from the mountain and the door had vanished into space. Even without any noticeable traits, without any key points to discern it from...

Anything really, she knew... She knew that she'd been here before. The sound of sirens slowly hovered through the air and as they continued to walk the woman had to pause. Beyond the sirens...

Beyond the sounds of panicked shouts and laboured breathing that were slowly but surely growing louder in the air...

Crying.

She could hear crying.

Seto froze, her brother slowly turning back from where he'd been walking ahead. Amid the darkness a small light could be seen, growing in dull intensity. Slowly but surely the halls of a hospital were coming into view with this light, merging with the darkness and with dim lighting there were running doctors and nurses, seeming to ghost in and out of memory around them. " _We've lost her,_ " someone whispered, before the crying continued on. " _I'm so sorry... But there's nothing we can do..._ " This...

"Nee-sama?" Mokuba asked, slowly looking up in confusion. "Where is this?" This memory...

She knew where she was. She... "Mokuba I want you to close your eyes," she said clearly, not looking down at the boy. "And plug your ears... And no matter what happens," the woman hissed almost dangerous, "Do not open them until I tell you to..!"

The boy frowned, looking forward as the memory became more clear in appearance. A small girl pulling at a bedside... A woman with white hair, covered head to toe by a covering for modesty and respect... "...Who is that..?"

"Just close your eyes," she repeated, grabbing her brother's hand as a shadow moved in the dark, a bundle in the person's arms as they passed. "I'll look for the door," she whispered under her breath, "Just..."

"...Nee-sama?" he asked worriedly, voice seeming distant as the woman closed her eyes. "...Are you alright..?" Sirens... Crying...

' _Wake up... Mom... Wake up... Why won't you..._ ' No...

"...Yes... I'm fine."

No she wasn't.


	4. Dreams and Illusions

"If I see... One more 'bat'... I'm going to scream..."

Anzu Mazaki was not having a good day. For one she'd woken up to see nothing but complete and utter darkness, when the last thing she remembered clearly was walking through an alley with Jonouchi and that blond boy they'd just met. 'Namu', his name was. And for another...

Well, it was probably better to recount everything quickly in her mind than try and make a list she told herself, rubbing her forehead. Come to think of it she thought as she leaned against the canyon wall, what kind of name was Namu anyways? Honestly...

It sounded like some butchered form of 'name' and-

"Not the point Anzu," she told herself, kicking off her shoes and massaging her sore feet in the meantime. "The point are these 'blisters'..."

Which were becoming a real pain, and constantly bringing up the thoughts of why she would ever put this sort of strain in her subconscious. The fact was she was almost certain that this was a dream. That everything in here was a dream really, from the canyon to the 'game'. After getting knocked out in that alleyway, everything had been a blur. She could remember some place dark, someplace she couldn't move... She could even remember a few screams, and someone shivering in her arms. But after that her memory was fragmented completely, with a blank span of time between what she was certain had been late after noon and the current 'evening'.

Or at least, it was evening last time she checked (she was dreaming after all, so who knew, she'd probably gone back to sleep...). She could remember a few things. A moment of dinner on what seemed to be some kind of ship where she'd looked around, about to ask how she'd gotten there before blacking out. Another moment at the top of this airship, during Jonouchi's match, hearing nothing but screams. She'd admit that she'd gotten swept up in the confusion, what with Namu's wailing cries and Jonouchi's apparent and temporary death. It was probably the latter that prevented her from turning to Yugi with wide eyes and asking in fear, _'where are we?_ '. But after that...

After that short glimpse of her friends suffering...

It had all gone black. All of it. Leaving her senseless and timeless until that moment in the darkness...

That moment where after a hurried sensation of falling, she had 'woken up'. ' _Welcome_ ,' a boy's voice had stated calmly, sounding almost real to her ears. She'd stood up, looking around curiously to find the source but found nothing, only able to listen as he continued. _'We're going to play a game, Mazaki Anzu. Would you like to try?_ ' he asked. She'd asked how he knew her name... She'd asked where she was...

The boy simply said that they were inside the world of the computer. That they were going to play a duel monsters game, filled with monsters and magic and adventure.

It all seemed so unreal. So fake, so... Childishly 'dream-like', to the point where it just _couldn't_ be real!

She didn't even remember how she'd gotten there, so it had to be that right? So of course...

So of course she had said yes! It was a dream after all, what choice did she have? She was tired... She didn't want to wake up now...

And the voice seemed to agree, almost radiating a feeling of positivity as a result. ' _That's wonderful_ ,' he had announced cheerfully, sounding almost like Mokuba for a brief moment. ' _This is the most positive reaction I've received so far!'_ That was part of the dream though, right? Who else could there possibly be? Anzu had pushed the unease from mind, simply telling herself it was nothing. This was all a dream, that was all...

There was nothing more to question, right?

_'The game we are playing is very dangerous,_ ' the voice, introducing himself as 'Noa', had warned. _'If you die, even once_ ,' he continued, ' _It's game over understand?'_ Okay... That much she understood. And as she had told him that much, the wave of positivity had again swum over her. ' _Good. Now; though you will need to use duel monsters in order to challenge the final boss_ ,' the boy explained, ' _You will also be using the skills of a specific class of player. This class can not be changed, and each one has their own advantages or disadvantages. Please_ ,' Noa continued, a series of shimmering and almost holographic panels appearing around her to illuminate the dark, ' _Study your options carefully, and choose wisely._ '

Maybe it was then that she'd realized she wasn't wearing anything. When she'd looked down to jump, realizing that she resembled some sort of ghost, smoking in form and glowing ethereally. Despite her nudity there was no detail in her form though, as though she'd been hand drawn on all but her face... Drawn and then coloured in with a soft, glowing highlighter of sorts.

That wasn't the point at the time though, right? It was only expected that a 'game' start oddly. So instead, she had looked over her options, reading over the stats with all the intentions of playing the game. Red Mage, Blue Mage, White... The 'jack of all trades' who wielded magic and sword both, the copy-cat who learned their trade from the monsters they attacked, the healer who could do nothing but improve health and stood on the side lines. None of these caught her eye, and so she turned to the next few. After all, there was also the standard warrior, the monk, the ranger... And even stranger classes, such as the 'Dancer', or even one titled the 'Gambler'. And finally at the 'end' of the panel wheel next to the red mage, she spotted it, the one she had passed over by turning the opposite direction.

"Ah... Black Mage..." A focus in destructive magic, with no ability in healing. This would work. After all, with that sort of power she could probably make it through quickly right? And that was the point of a dream, wasn't it? Besides...

This was more similar to that 'Magician' class she'd picked so long ago, as opposed to say the 'Red Mage'. Upon tapping the screen to make her decision however, it had unfolded into two, each one depicting an almost translucent form of herself in two variant sets of clothing. ' _Choose your armor,_ ' Noa had requested, the two models slowly spinning in a 360 before her. ' _As Black Mage,_ ' he explained, ' _You do not have access to the heavy armor. You may, however, choose between cloth or leather.'_ Cloth or leather...

She could choose between the robes, dress-like in appearance, or the tunic and poncho, which came with leggings. She'd chosen cloth in the end after a few moments of thought. The leather set looked a little too 'unisex' for her liking, and while she liked a deal of practicality in things, the robes had a certain charm. Upon making her choice and tapping the screen, she'd found herself clothed in those very same black robes. But more importantly...

She'd found herself falling.

"Ha... HAAAAAHHH! HAAAAHHH!" She'd screamed. Loudly, louder than she even believed possible as she fell. Yet as she came closer she slowed, the screams doing the same until finally as she 'stepped' onto the ground she found herself staring about in confusion. This place...

The Grand Canyon.

Exactly as it had been when she was a small girl, travelling on vacation with her Grandparents while her father sorted out yet another moving plan, another argument with her mother.

She could remember asking herself, ' _what is this_ ', and receiving an answer, seemingly from nowhere.

_'This is a scene from your memories_ ,' Noa had said, voice kept curt and professional as he spoke. ' _Your task is to travel through your memories_ ,' he explained frankly, ' _And conquer whatever challenge may arise along the way. If you do this,_ ' he continued, ' _You will be able to complete the game, and escape to the real world._ ' So she would wake up then? The dream would 'end'?

The boy had paused, as though pondering something before eventually responding.

' _...Yes... Exactly,_ ' the voice had told her, somehow seeming both honest and dishonest in the same instant. ' _That is exactly it. Good luck, Mazaki Anzu._ ' That was what he'd told her...

'Good luck', and try not to die, not that the last had been anything but unsaid. And now looking back, she had a feeling she knew why he'd said 'good luck'. Over the course of the 'game' she had so far run into many small monsters, each easily taken out with her staff and magic. She'd fought with metal 'Bats', she'd fought with 'Cloudians', small humanoid puffs of the sky, and she'd even come across a few 'Sangan'. And she swore to god if she didn't wake up really soon, she was going to 'Thunder' the next thing she spotted, or perhaps try out that new 'Fire Ball' spell she'd recently received.

Anzu slipped her shoes back on with a sigh, looking up at the air despite these murderous thoughts. "What kind of 'dream' is this anyways?" she whispered, gripping her staff at the side before slowly stepping up from the ground. "I don't even have a deck like the 'voice' said... Not even a deck holder..." Just how was that even supposed to work? No deck holder, no deck...

Even if she'd had the cards she'd have no way to play the game, no way to fight using the cards. A rock tumbled past the cliff she sat beside, Anzu raising her eyebrow at the movement. Perhaps she'd ponder the uselessness of cards in the situation for now she told herself, looking around the corner to find the source of the kicked pebble. So far she could see nothing of course; just a small bend in the canyon, surrounded by steep cliffs. After a moment however she could hear grunts, growls of sorts that seemed to form crude words in some foreign language.

" _Grrnph... Phmmph... Mrrrrrmph..._ " Eh...

Eh..? Stomps echoed through the air as the woman narrowed her eyes, the source of the sound still unseen. As a scrap of blue made its way around the distant path however she found herself slowly backing away, the familiar 'stats' screen appearing at the corner of her eye. It had a habit of appearing whenever a new monster was encountered, she'd found. It was a handy trick too she thought to herself as she continued backing away, the screen flashing red. It was what told her the bat's were small fry, and what told her that the few 'Sangan' which appeared were good to farm for experience. That the 'cloudians' dropped some sort of 'healing' fluid, and that they would otherwise get her nothing else to work with.

It also told her that if she valued her one life, she'd get as far away from these 'cyclops' as possible, as with one already out of her league, an entire tribe would just be suicide. Slowly the woman continued to step back, face growing pale. She just needed to keep quiet... She just needed to keep her distance, and keep-

_tpff_

"Gh-!" The woman turned as the same pebble she'd stared at prior was kicked away by her heel, hurriedly looking toward the second path as the monsters she'd wanted to avoid tensed.

" _Grnnn_!" With a start the cyclopses turned, red eyes flaring as their raised their clubs. Teeth were bared the moment they'd caught the woman in their sights, and with out a thought more they charged. " _GRAEEEEEEE! RAEEEEEEE!_ "

"Oh... Ohhhhh crap! OH CRAP!" Anzu stumbled back as she began to run, looking back behind her and pointing the staff forward. Something with range, something with range... "Gh- STONE!" she shouted, a small quake of rocks rumbling against the on-coming monsters in hopes of tripping or stalling the beasts. With no result however she tripped on the hem of her robes, continuing to run randomly about the canyon with a pale face before sending out more spells. "FIRE! THUNDER!” she roared, the various elemental strikes flying through the air to be brushed off by her pursuers. "BLIZZARD! ...AERO! ...SOMETHING DAMN IT!"

Spell after spell and nothing was working, and all she succeeded in was further enraging the monsters on her tail. The blisters in her feet were going to burst if she kept this up, and as it was the throbbing pain was only barely being pushed back in lieu of escaping.

"Damn it damn it damn it..!" Shadows began closing in on her... Tunnels were littering the sides, and as she spotted one Anzu charged in through a nearby hollow with a shout, rolling to the ground before slowly pulling herself up with a wince. The hole she'd entered was narrow after all, and barely large enough for herself. Stepping back into the darkness as the cyclops seemed to pass her by she began to calm down somewhat, letting out a sigh of relief as the final one passed. Alright...

She'd escaped, she told herself, backing away into the large and closed in cavern with a sigh. Just needed to wait now. Just wait for the coast to be clear... And...

Was that a shadow she saw there?

" _Greaeeeee..._ " Hissing came from outside the cavern as she backed up against the wall, eyes widening as the monsters began clambering through the hole. Their bodies were large, thick and muscular; far more bulky and troublesome when it came to entering the cavern, particularly with the size of the entrance in question. However even with this disadvantage they were coming in, Anzu finding herself filled with fear despite her image of the game as a dream. Oh god...

A single arm was flailing through the hole, clawing at the sides... "Oh hell... My luck can't be that bad," she whispered to herself, eyes wide as she pressed herself further against the cavern wall. "It just can't..." Rocks tumbled from the sides of the entrance. "It can't..." Clawed hands were coming through, with clubs and glowing red eyes barely visible on the other side, the monsters chasing after her trying their damnedest to burrow their way through. "Oh come ON," she whispered to herself, pulling at her hair with a groan. What the hell was this!

"Pssst... Hey lady," a voice whispered, almost 'hissing' in tone. "Need a hand?" Anzu jumped as voice other than the grumbling caught her attention, turning down to the source to stare with wide eyes. It... It looked like...

"A snake?" she questioned blankly, eyes wide with shock. The snake, which seemed to be a brilliant gold in colour flicked its tongue, rolling its eyes.

"Nooo, I'm a lizard that got its legs cut off, OF COURSE I'M A SNAKE!" he hissed, hood flaring as his target drew back somewhat. "Come on lady, answer the question; do you want help, yes or no?" Anzu blinked, shaking her head before narrowing her eyes.

"You.. You're a talking snake," she protested, "What are you going to do?" The serpent snorted at this, managing to slither up the roughened edges of the wall somewhat as it spoke.

"Come on... You haven't figured it out?" he asked, a small bit of light from above revealing odd patterns down the back of the scales. "Every witch has a familiar right?" Ahhh...

"A... A familiar?" the woman repeated incredulously. The snake nodded, continuing on its way as Anzu frowned. "You're a- This is a video game," she growled, "'Mages' don't have familiars!"

"Well 'apparently'," he answered, "You do! So answer the question, come on!" Ugh...

This was a dream, right? Hell, talking snakes were weird but that just made it more obvious right? Anzu bit her lip, swallowing nervously as she looked back to the cave entrance. The cyclops were still breaking through... the first had freed its head and arm, and was working on the rest...

"What do you want me to do?" she finally asked, turning back to the snake with a swallow. The snake seemed to grin in response to the question, violet eyes flashing.

"Watch and learn lady... But first..." With break-neck speed the snake struck, sinking his fangs into the woman's bare wrist as she shouted. Venom pulsed through her veins, and as the snake retracted Anzu hissed in pain.

"Gh- OW! What the..." What...

An odd pattern bloomed from the bite, slowly but surely forming in small blots from the fang's entry. Around two puncture wounds came rings, followed by coils and spirals from small blocks. Patterns formed, along with strange swirls that seemed almost familiar to her. It was so strange... They seemed to almost form a 'bird' of sorts if she looked closely, but what did that-

"Alrighty! Now it's official!" the snake called out, coiling itself around the woman's wrist as she stared. "We're stuck with each other!" Ah- That was what he was going with? Anzu shook herself off, instead holding her arm somewhat to give the small snake some 'height'. "Now... Lets get this moving! Watch! This is what happens when you have a familiar on your side," he announced, hood still flared as he looked toward the entrance. The cyclops were almost in. She could see the torso of the first, the snarling and drooling one-eyed head, his arm as it scrambled to free his club...

" _GREAAAAEEEEE! REEAEEEEE!_ " the monster roared, Anzu drawing back somewhat in fear.

"Gh..." About the roars the snake was speaking, calm words filling the air as she held her staff close.

"Just trust me Anzu, trust me alright? Take aim at the top of the cavern," the snake told her, Anzu not even bothering to ask how it knew her name as it continued. "Use the most powerful, physical spell you've got," he shouted, "And hit that outcropping of rocks on the ceiling!" The most powerful spell?

But all of her spells were 'level 1' other than 'fire ball' she thought to herself with a wince, so which one would... Wait, 'physical' attacks. Of course! The woman nodded, holding the snake-wielding hand forward with determined eyes. "Alright... BLIZZARD!" she roared, magic erupting from the mouth of the snake and the staff both to strike the rocks of the ceiling down. In a resounding crash and muffled scream the entrance was blocked, a large grin appearing over their faces as the cyclops were crushed. "Ah... We... We did it," the woman cheered, watching as the fallen cyclops' arm gave a final dead twitch. "We did it!" And the experience points she'd gotten!

Who cared if this was all a dream, this was incredible, that had made her jump at least two levels and-

...Waiiit...

"Hang on," she muttered, looking around the room with narrowed eyes. If that was the only entrance then... "...We're STUCK!"

The snake blinked, looking around the mostly darkened cavern with somewhat wide eyes. "Oh... So we are," he said somewhat plainly, hood folded down once more. "Sorry about that."

"Nice... Real nice," she grumbled, crossing her arms as the snake scooted up to her shoulder. "And just how are we getting out now?"

"Hey don't ask me," he answered plainly. "The snake's supposed to get Eve in trouble, not get her out!" 'Eve'? She was 'Eve' now? Ugggghh...

Of all the things to get stuck with, she muttered to herself with a groan. Why did it have to be a snake?

* * *

In the darkness that they stood in there were four doors. 'They' would of course be an inaccuracy; the other Yugi was unable to materialize in the virtual world after all, and given the result of the last attempt they were not too eager to try again.

Particularly since there was no deckmaster for him to draw from this time. Nonetheless what he could see was what his other could see, and with that in mind they stared at the doors before them and frowned. "What do you think we need to do here?" Yugi found himself asking, brushing a hand along one of the doorways as he stared at the empty frame. Above each one there was a mouth of sorts, each one depicting a different animal. On the first it appeared to be a swan, or some other form of bird. The next was that of a dragon, followed by a snake-like mouth, and finally on the last was a tiger with snarling teeth. The first thing to come to mind was the four 'beasts', the four great 'gods' in Chinese myth once he'd seen those. Suzaku, the phoenix, Byakko, the white tiger... Genbu, the tortise, and finally Seiryuu, the dragon. North, South, East, West...

But just what did that mean? " _Four doors_ ," his other muttered, crossing his arms as he looked over their options. " _Perhaps we need to choose from them?_ " Maybe...

"But how?" he wondered aloud, frowning in thought. "We don't even know what the meaning of the heads above the door are," the boy continued, shaking his head. Slowly walked about the door he stood by, running a hand along the sides and looking over the small engravings across it. "Hnnn... There's something else here," Yugi muttered, "But what is it..."

"Do you request entry?" a calm voice asked, echoing about the doorway. Yugi jumped, looking up as a fading figure slowly appeared above the first door. The first to appear were the bare and brown feet of a woman, followed by legs and a waist that were barely covered by an odd blackened substance. A large, barbed tail curled upward as she appeared, and with golden eyes the woman who appeared stared downward.

"A-Ahh..!"

" _That tail,_ " his other muttered, narrowing his eyes in the back of the boy's mind. " _A scorpion..?_ " That's what it looked like at least...

The boy stepped back from the door, looking up at the woman with somewhat narrowed eyes at her form. Strange... He could not quite identify her, at least not completely. Though her face was most certainly unfamiliar it still felt as though he had met the monster before, despite no reason to believe such. Pondering this however took time; and as the scorpion-woman sat above the door he found himself swallowing, somewhat red faced before he worked up the courage to speak.

"I... How do I enter through this door?" he asked, biting his lip somewhat.

The response came swiftly and frankly, the woman gesturing below her. "To pass through the gate, you must pass a trial," she answered, crossing her legs as black scales shimmered in the light.

"A... A trial?" he repeated, receiving a nod in response. "Correct... There are few options for you... One," the woman began, "You may face the beast that lies within this door, that whose expression is trapped in stone... Or," she continued, Yugi mentally muttering a 'pass' with his other half at the mention of another fight, "You can answer the riddle I ask of you." Oh...

A riddle? Well that worked out he supposed. "...Riddles... So I can pass if I answer correctly then?" he asked, the 'scorpion' nodding in response. "And if I lose..?"

At that a sneering grin came over the woman's face, Yugi abruptly paling as golden eyes flashed. "Oh... I think you know," she stated with a darkening grin, the boy shuddering as her gaze intensified. "The decision is yours to make though," she continued almost darkly. "So will you fight... Or will you risk my trial..?" Hnn...

Yugi stared in silence, frowning somewhat as his 'other' half considered the options with him. "If we lose, in either the fight or the riddle, we'll die no matter what," he muttered, lighter side nodding in agreement.

" _However,_ " the spirit continued darkly, " _We're also still weak from that last battle..._ "

"We might 'know' how to fight thanks to this game," he continued on with a sigh, quite vividly recalling the ease he'd cut through Oshita with, "But the riddles will test our knowledge completely..."

" _...Hnp! Then let them,_ " his other half decided with a smirk, the image of the spirit standing with crossed arms coming to mind. " _After all... A riddle is just another form of a puzzle, right?_ "

Yugi blinked at that, looking up in slight alarm before nodding. Well... That was true he supposed, this was just a form of puzzle wasn't it. "Right... Okay then," he decided, looking to the woman with a nod. "I'll take the challenge!"

The woman grinned even more with that, taking a more professional position as she spoke. "Very well; listen carefully. 'Ever present I flow, through rivers, through trees. Though unseen I am there, though small, I am limitless. To the ends of the earth and back I travel, yet through this I never move. To many I am life. To others I am power. To the knowledgeable, I am both. What am I?'" E... Ehhh...

Yugi swallowed, staring forward with somewhat wide eyes as the words registered. Oh man... What had he gotten himself into... " _Constantly flowing?_ " his other half muttered in question, likely huffing in confusion. " _Hnn... This is not quite what I expected_ ," he muttered, shaking his head. Ahhhh... Maybe so... But if they didn't answer, they wouldn't be getting out of here either..!

"Hnnng... I suppose we have to decipher the riddle itself first," he muttered, grinding his teeth as he stared at the ground. Ends of the earth... Ends of the earth... Time? End of time? No, that wasn't it he told himself, it was going back and forth, not forward. Ah...

" _Death, perhaps?_ " his other offered, Yugi blinking in response as he pondered the statement. Ah...

"Yeah," he muttered, "That would work..." Alright... So it died and came back then. It was present in everything, which probably explained why it could 'die and be reborn' without actually going anywhere. But if this was life... The boy frowned, narrowing his eyes and shaking himself at that. No... "It's not 'life'," he told himself, "Only 'some' see it as that..."

" _But what word is there that's synonymous for life and power,_ " questioned the other Yugi, both boys just as confused in regards to the solution. " _I certainly don't know of one in our language,_ " he continued, " _Nor one in-_ " Ah...

Wait, there was! "KI!" Yugi shouted abruptly, eyes wide as he grinned. The woman above the door stared, tail twitching somewhat as the boy continued. "It's 'Ki'!"

" _Ki?!_ " his other choked, " _But 'Ki' doesn't mean power!_ " No...

But it meant 'motivation'! Spirit, mind, heart... It meant many things, and they all tied to life and energy... And if he was right, then in this case, that counted!

The woman smiled, a calm and soft expression gracing her face as the door became more than a stone arch, glowing brightly to obscure some path up ahead. "Very good," she stated, bowing her head. "You may pass... But remember," she whispered, fading as the smile darkened into a twisted smirk, "There are more trials yet to come before you may truly move on..." More..?

Yugi swallowed, nonetheless moving forward with a nod. Alright... So there were more. They'd just have to keep going until they found the others then!

* * *

How long had she been stuck in here she wondered, a yawn escaping her mouth despite her greatest interests. An hour? Two perhaps? The woman sighed, leaning a head on her shoulder as she dozed in and out of consciousness. Well... Some dream this was she grumbled mentally, a scowl appearing on her face. Maybe if she went to sleep she'd wake up, and someone would explain what happened to her. And speaking of 'someone'...

"What's your name?" she found herself asking, the snake she spoke to currently resting atop her head. "You have to have some kind of name right?" she continued, the serpent merely looking down with oddly childish eyes from his makeshift nest.

"Hnnn... I suppose that's true," it responded, blinking a few times.

"...You suppose?" Anzu asked, raising an eyebrow.

The snake nodded, before turning to leave her head. "Yeah! I mean, it's natural to figure everything has a name right? Of course... That doesn't mean I know it," he continued with a grin, hanging his head down before the woman's face as she scowled.

...He was kidding right? "You don't know your own name?" she asked incredulously, staring at the snake as it returned to his 'nest'.

The snake merely gave off an odd, 'raspberry' sound, apparently unimpressed with the question. "Hey! Your pal 'Yugi's got a 'nameless' pharaoh on his neck doesn't he," he asked, again not seeming too oddly knowledgeable on her memories for some reason. "How come I'm exempt from the name game?"

"You're not an ancient ghost," Anzu protested blankly, the snake's presence vanishing from her head as it slithered off somewhere. "And besides that," she continued with a scowl, "How do you even know about that sort of thing?"

"Familiar, remember," he responded, the woman continuing to frown.

"And what does that even mean?"

"It means that we're 'tied', alright? Now..." There was a rustling noise, something thick falling on Anzu's face as the woman moved to stand and turn around. "Here we go! How's this for an exit?" The woman blinked, following the edge of what seemed to be a vine up to a large hole at the top with her eyes. Sitting beside the other end and draped in his own shadow the snake could just barely be made out, eyes flashing with superiority.

"Ah- How on earth did you even get up there?" she shouted, the snake in question blinking in the same manner it always did with a grin.

"Ehhh... Who knows," it called down, Anzu rolling her eyes in response. "But come on, you wanted out right?" That was definitely true...

And she supposed it was as good an option as any. Anzu grabbed at the vine, awkwardly stowing the staff on the side of her robe sash before attempting to climb up the rock wall. "Gnhg... Well... I guess I should thank you anyways," she called up, voice echoing about the chamber as she awkwardly continued the conversation. "Since you found this vine and all..."

"Eh, don't mention it," the snake responded, tongue flicking with amusement. "Familiar, remember?" Of course... 'Familiar'. That was clearly the reason she told herself as she scaled the wall. Clearly...

Just what the heck was a familiar damn it!

Clambering hands gripped at the exit of the room, grabbing onto stone and dirt as she pulled herself out with a grunt. Crawling forward on hands and knees the woman gasped somewhat for breath, her 'familiar' curling up on her arm once more as she looked down at her wrist. Now that they were in the light, she could more clearly see the markings that appeared with the bite. What she'd thought were 'blocks' were individual symbols, each one varied and almost picturesque in appearance, appearing clearer as she brought the wrist close. These...

"Hieroglyphs?" she muttered in question, looking to the snake on her arm with a frown. "They're covering you too," she continued, her partner appearing to tense. Starting from an enormous vulture carrying a disk, a series of hieroglyphs tracing down the snake's back. Three times, surrounding an 'ankh', she could see pictures of sorts, some kind of... "Hey," she muttered as the snake closed his eyes over, growing more and more lethargic in the blinding sun from above, "Some of them look almost like-"

" _GREAEEEEEEE!_ " The two both jumped, the snake pulling itself from a sun-induced stupor and Anzu from her own confusion.

"Gh- They're still there!?” she shouted incredulously, hurriedly grabbing the staff out from her sash and pointing it forward as the roars picked up once again. "How many of these are there!"

"Who knows," the snake responded, already falling to the ground and slithering off rather than hanging around the woman. "But I don't see any cliffs nearby!" Gh- Wha-

The woman turned, balking as her 'familiar' began to flee down a rope-bridge joining the canyons together. "You- Hey! What happened to being 'tied' to each other!" she shouted, glancing back at the approaching horde of cyclops before racing after the serpent as she growled. "Hah! You might be tied to me," he answered, "But I'm sure not tied to you!"

"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around!" she argued bitterly, only to pause as she took a step on the bridge.

Splinters of wood cracked with every step, and as she gripped the ropes at the side she could feel the fibres coming off in her hands. The bridge she stood on was fragile and collapsing...

And she was only two steps in. "Ack... Not good..."

The woman looked forward, wincing as she witnessed the snake curling up safely on the other side. Damn it... Something that small, of course it would make it!

" _GREEEEEHH!_ " Gh-! " _REAEEEEEEE!_ "

She glanced back, swallowing in unease at the continued sounds of the cyclops behind her. Tch... Either she'd be killed by giants, or she'd fall to her death. ...She would rather pick falling though she decided, hurriedly running across the bridge with wide eyes. Besides... This was just a dream right? Just a dream. Nothing more nothing less, she could do this easily! Wood splintered to the ground from the planks behind her, but as she ran the bridge held firm. One quarter of the distance... One half the distance... Three quarters, she thought with a grin, before the thoughts were cut short.

- _SNAP_

Anzu froze, a sudden quake coming through the bridge as she gripped the sides. "Oh no..." Behind her the cyclops had followed after. Though barely a quarter of the way in the bridge was creaking under their weight, clawed hands gnawing at the ropes on the sides as she stared at the sinking bridge. The bridge was sagging... Collapsing under the pressure... "Oh no no no no no..."

"Gr _eeee... REAAAEEEEEEHHH_!"

"H-HAAAHH!" With an echoing crumble the bridge collapsed, Anzu shrieking as she fell. Her free hand scrambled for something to take hold of as the bridge's splinters and fibers blew into her eyes, hands blindly flying forward before finally latching onto one of the last few planks on the bridge. Rumbling cries and roars from the giants were filling the air... Anzu closed her eyes as she turned away from the vertigo inducing height she was at however, instead fumbling with her staff to store it away and grab the bridge planks for support. Great...

Her bridge was now a ladder.

A ladder that stood above multiple meters of height. "Oooooohhhhh... Damn it..." This wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare! Weak hands slowly moved up the planks, short grunts coming from her as she climbed. Hngg... This bridge... It was so long too, how was she supposed to make this length.

Of course, given her only option...

The hot sun was beating down from above just now, making it difficult to concentrate. Sweaty palms were slowly losing their grip on already fragile and cracked wood, her mind mentally craving an ice-cream. Half-way there she told herself with a swallow, letting out a short scream as her foot broke through one of the planks. H-H... Half way there..!

Who knew how these ropes were holding her she told herself as she climbed, breathing somewhat labored as she went. How these wooden planks weren't cracking and crumbling into dust, leaving her to fall to her 'death'. As she clambered onto the cliff however, collapsing on her back, she found herself uncaring. Her mind was hazy. She'd gone so long without water, without even a slight 'chill' besides her one 'Blizzard' attack...

And the heat, the heat was just so pressuring. So pressuring... If she slept...

If she slept she asked herself, unaware of the shadows coming around her at that moment... Would she 'wake up'?

* * *

To say that this was a disappointment would be, well... An understatement _and_ a disappointment, if they were going to stick with accurate terms. After passing through the first door they had come to an extensive and nigh endless hall, lined in stone and filled with carvings of unknown events or places. For a while, he thought one of them had resembled Anzu, but in the end he'd shaken it off, passing by images of aircraft and dancing in order to move on.

The carvings hadn't been his reason for being there after all; he needed to leave as soon as possible, and find his friends. To come to the end of that hallway only to exit from the same door they'd entered in however, with the hall vanishing to render it an arch once more, was just horrible and not at all a comforting fact when it came to achieving that goal.

"Gh... We're back where we started!" Yugi shouted with wide eyes, looking around. "What is this..!"

" _The woman did say there were more challenges,_ " his other muttered. Hnn...

"That's true," he answered quietly, wandering to the next door before frowning. "...Maybe... Do you think we have to go through all of them?" he asked, unconsciously looking back to where his partner would normally stand. "Before we can really 'move on' I mean?"

" _I don't think I'd be surprised if that were the case_ ," the spirit admitted with a 'shrug', shaking his head in the back of his mind. " _After all... There's no indication of which door is the 'right one'_ ," he continued, " _So it would make sense..._ " True... True...

In that case... Yugi hesitantly tapped the next door, that of the 'Suzaku', before stepping back as the next woman appeared. This time though the face matched she appeared different. Rather than black scales she wore a simple ebony gown, the fabric almost translucent much to Yugi's embarrassed shock. Upon the woman's head in the meantime was a basket of sorts, woven from green reeds and shining dully in a nonexistent light.

"You have returned," she said calmly, no trace of surprise audible in her tone. The boy nodded, staring to the woman as he tried not to stare too hard at the sheer dress.

"That's right. But you knew that I'd do that, didn't you?" he responded, looking up seriously. "There are four riddles aren't there? And I have to answer all of them to move on, don't I?"

The woman smirked, before nodding slowly. "True... There is one for each door that you must answer to move on. If you are asking me this," she continued, "I would take it to assume that you are seeking the next riddle then..." Again Yugi nodded, watching as the monster sat upright atop the door and spoke. "Very well... Here is your next challenge," she told him, holding a hand out in gesture. "'I am the companion to death, the shadow in life. Through me you will often see twin rivers of salt across a plain of white, coated in mantles of black. Pray you do not succumb to my power, for those who do leave me to all the rest in companionship!" Ah...

This one was worse than the last one! Yugi frowned, nonetheless crossing his arms in thought as he conversed with his other on the matter. Hnnn... Damn it. " _Obviously this one has to do with the effects of death,_ " his other was muttering, likely holding a similar pose to his friend. " _But even so that leaves us little to go on... Do you have any idea as to what 'salt rivers' might refer to?_ " he continued, the lighter half shaking his head.

"Not really... Hnn..." Yugi continued to frown, staring at the ground. "It can't be a real river... Rivers are only fresh water, there's no such thing as a salt-water river," he muttered, closing his eyes. "Black has a lot to do with death but... How do you succumb to something other than death if death is constantly present with it?" he asked, again finding himself turned to empty space.

" _Hnn... It would have to be a depressing topic, that is for certain,_ " his other muttered, before a rush of excitement came from his side of the 'link. " _Ah- Hang on now... Yugi, tears are salty right?_ " he asked, his partner nodding despite the action remaining unseen. " _Well then... If you were to have heard that someone died, what would you do?_ " What would he-

"Well... I'd be upset of course," Yugi responded rather quickly, eyes wide with slight incredulity. "Especially if it was someone close!"

" _Yes, and so would I,_ " the spirit continued almost dismissively, " _But I meant physically; when people are upset, they grow pale, or cry, right?_ " Umm...

"Right... But-" The boy blinked, before nodding in understanding as the answer became clear. "Ahhhh... Of course..! 'Twin rivers of salt on a plain of white'- Tears on a pale face! Then, if that's covered in black," he continued, his partner smirking in response.

" _It's the black clothing of a funeral goer- and if one were to succumb to the emotions of that time,_ " he continued, plainly, " _Then wouldn't the emotion spread?_ "

"That's right... Of course it would! And that means... That means the answer is 'Mourning'!" Yugi announced, looking to the woman as she raised her eyebrows somewhat. "...Right?"

The woman smirked, slowly nodding as chuckling came through the air. "You are correct... 'Mourning' is indeed the answer! Move on," she continued, fading from existence, "And with luck, we will meet again soon..." With that in mind the boy before her nodded, charging through the door with not a moment to waste.

* * *

She was dreaming...

She was dreaming a crazy, dehydration-induced dream of the desert, filled with confusing thoughts and memories that she could only hazily remember at this moment. School... She was at school she told herself, watching as she stood across from Yugi at the boy's desk. It was from a long time ago. When Jonouchi was on 'house arrest' for his eyes by order of the 'all powerful Mokuba' as he'd jokingly been called, and when Honda was too busy with his nephew to deal with anything else... Much to his displeasure.

It was before Bakura had come. Before things had gotten quite as complicated as they were, and when it seemed things had finally calmed down from the terror that was the 'Death T Tower'. When it seemed things could finally be 'normal' again. They were talking about cards...

Yugi had been sorting through his old duel monsters deck with recent news of the national tournament, seemingly out of habit. "So which one do you think suits you?" she had asked, smiling brightly as the boy looked through his deck.

"'Suits me'?" he responded in surprise. "How so?"

"I don't know... Just something that you feel 'matches'," she'd said with a smirk, her friend staring in slight confusion. Yugi had blinked curiously in response to the request, staring at the cards in his hand before eventually shrugging.

"Well," he admitted, "I'd like to say the 'Dark Magician'... But that one's more the other me," he continued with a laugh, grabbing another one. "...Here; this one," he told her, smiling widely. "Maha Vailo."

"Maha Vailo..?" She'd looked at the card after that, before frowning at the robed and horn-helmed monster. "Isn't... Isn't this one a girl?" she'd asked suspiciously, pointing to the card with a frown. At this Yugi had laughed nervously, rubbing his head with a cough.

"Ahaha... Y-Yeah... It's a little embarrassing but you see, while she's not the most popular or powerful monster," he'd told her seriously, "She has a hidden ability... It makes her a lot stronger than she looks!" Ah... That made sense she'd supposed. She still didn't understand the connection, but she supposed it made sense.

"Right... Then... What about me?" she'd asked, pointing to herself with a smile.

"You?" he repeated almost blankly.

"Yeah... Which one do you think suits me?" the woman pressed, leaning somewhat over the desk. The boy had looked up momentarily, and soon enough pulled a card from the deck to hold it forward with a smile. "Ah... This one!" he decided, smiling broadly. "The Dark Magician Girl."

"Ah? That one," she repeated almost blankly, looking over the card in surprise.

"Yeah; it gains power when its partners, the Dark Magician or Dark Magician of Chaos, are in the graveyard," Yugi explained, still smiling as his friend took the card in his hands. "By drawing strength from both enemies and friends, she can become a powerful person... Like you; you're really strong... But sometimes I find that when it comes to fighting together, you're at your strongest when protecting us," he continued, Anzu looking back up from the card with a jolt.

"Ah- Protecting-" She'd quickly flushed, choking as she went red. "I... I'm the girl! I don't do the protecting! ...Though I'm certainly not some 'damsel in distress'," she added darkly, her friend shaking his head at his friend's self contradictions. "Well... The Dark Magician Girl... I think I've seen this card before," the woman admitted, holding it in her hands.

Somewhere else...

She had seen it, though not on a card. It was a few years ago in fact she realized, a memory coming to mind. "Ah, right... While I was in the USA visiting my father... He took me to see a small time 'musical'," she laughed, shaking her head as the memory returned. "Dark Magician Girl, 'Jewel of the Stage'... It was a silly show, meant for kids to get them interested in the cards, but... I couldn't help but want to take part in it," she admitted, Yugi blinking in response. "It seemed fun..."

"Oh... I see..." Then...

Why not, her mind questioned, Anzu blinking slightly as a breeze passed. In a flash the scene changed, and suddenly as both of the two Yugis she knew and cared for were sitting across from her in audience seats she could feel that breeze growing colder. The woman looked down, jumping in shock as she looked over herself. D-Dark Magician Girl... She was wearing!

_'Presenting, for the seventh annual showing_ ,' a voice announced, Anzu looking up with surprise. ' _Dark Magician Girl – The Jewel of the Stage!_ ' Eh-Ehh! Would they seriously play it until she graduated and moved out? There was no time to question her dream as she was pulled through the air, cables hoisting her over the crowd as the audience stared. Yugi...

Yugi was watching her now, both of them were, with smiles on their faces... "Ah... Aha..." This... She couldn't help but laugh, tears dotting her eyes as she flew through the air. "Ahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!" This...

This was fun! If she could do this for real, this would be-

' _Wake up,'_ someone whispered, the pull and the breeze abruptly fading as time appeared to slow. What...

Who was saying that?

_'Wake up_ ,' the voice repeated, Anzu frowning in response. Who was that? Who-

"Hey! Rise and shine sleepy!"

Water splashed across her face, the woman sitting up with a jolt as she coughed. "Gh- Kack! Kahc, Hah! Hah... Ha... Auggghhh..."

Anzu shook herself, water dripping into her face as she looked to the snake at her side. Ignoring the fact that she'd somehow been doused in water by something with no limbs... "What... What was that about!" she questioned, the snake appearing to 'smirk' with amusement.

"Eh... Penguins were getting tired of carrying you around," he responded, the woman blinking a number of times as she sat up on what she quickly identified as wood logs. Ahhh... Hold on now, he just said...

"Pe... Penguins?" she repeated, the snake in the meantime curling around her throat with a nod as it returned to her body.

"Yep; went looking to find you some water and somehow found a penguin instead; don't ask how it works but hey, it seemed willing enough to help. Of course, since we couldn't wake you up," the snake continued with a yawn, "I guess it figured carrying you would be better, since a giant horde of them showed up a couple seconds later." O...

Kay... She supposed that could have been what woke her up then, but... Well... Penguins.

"...We were at the _grand canyon_ ," she said incredulously, turning to the snake as the raft they sat on drifted. "What would penguins be doing-"

"Errr... Yeah... About that," the snake muttered with a cough, Anzu currently looking around with narrowed eyes. "We're still there." Still-

"No way," she whispered, eyes wide as she looked around the seas they currently floated on. "This... This looks nothing like the canyon!" she shouted, shaking her head. "There's snow everywhere, and ice... We're on a raft!" she protested, looking down at the snake as they continued to drift toward shore. "I mean... We're-"

A series of odd chirping noises caught their attention, the woman turning as the raft came to dock at a now frozen peak. Penguins...

An entire field of penguins stood before her, each one with a different pattern of black and white over them while they cleared a path. Despite the bizarreness of the situation the snake around her neck seemed fairly calm about all of this too. Of course said snake was also about to talk, given that he moved to her arm for a better view, ducking under her sleeves with another yawn.

"Lots of penguins huh?" he said somewhat conversationally, Anzu giving a look that clearly told him what she thought of the statement. "Yeaaaaah... Like I said Anzu, this is the canyon; after you passed out," the serpent explained, "And I went to find help, a great big snow storm hit. Man... You should have seen it!" he shouted with a grin, fangs extending in the gesture. "A great big tidal wave tore right through here from nowhere! It was awesome!" Awesome huh?

Anzu raised an eyebrow, smirking somewhat. "You act like you've never seen snow before," she joked, the snake coughing awkwardly as they were led onward by the penguins.

"Yeah well... What can I say, I'm a familiar, I'm a snake, we don't mix with snow." Of course...

That had to be the reason right? The woman continued to shake her head, staring forward to keep an eye on the path as they moved. "You still haven't told me what this 'familiar' business means," she muttered, the snake on her wrist snorting in response.

"Hah! Keep waiting for an answer," he answered, 'grinning' cheekily before returning to the woman's neck. "Hahhhhhh warmth... Precious warmth," he muttered, the wrist having apparently not been enough. "I hate being cold-blooded..." Yes... That would probably cause problems in this weather Anzu decided, shaking her head. Speaking of the weather.

Snow was falling just lightly at the moment, and she had a feeling it had something to do with this castle. "Wow," she muttered, looking up at the enormous ice sculptures lining the palace they were entering now. "Someone in here really likes Penguins," Anzu whispered, shaking her head.

"Got that right," the snake muttered sleepily, giving off a small yawn as he shivered. "Man... Someone light a fire," he moaned, "I'm going into hibernation here..."

"Do cobras even hibernate?" the woman hissed in response, the snake giving another yawn in response.

"I dunno," he groaned sleepily, "Wake me up in spri- OW! SSSSSSSFFF what was that!" he roared, abruptly finding himself dangling in the woman's hand. Anzu merely frowned as the snake flailed in her grip, having flicked his forehead rather roughly in her anger.

"For being an insufferable little snake," she told him, narrowing her eyes. "In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were only six," she continued, ignoring the fairly prominent 'eye' that sat on the snake's brow for the moment.

"Ssssssssfff... Not my fault I'm honest," he growled, bringing his head up to face his 'partner'.

"Uh-huh..." Because that was always an acceptable excuse right? Loud squawking cut her thoughts short, the woman turning as the penguins all gestured to a large door standing before her in the ice. "...Wow," she muttered, looking up at the structure with wide eyes. "Impressive..."

"...I've seen better," the snake muttered with a shrug, Anzu turning on it with a frown.

"Alright. Unless you plan on giving me a name, shut up, before I feed you to one of these birds," she muttered, the snake momentarily turning to glance at the penguins in question with a gulp.

"Ahhhh... 'Ren'," he offered, giving his cheeky grin as the woman stared. Ren... Hn.

"...I guess that works," she decided, shaking her head and pushing through the door with a grunt. "Now... ...Where are we?" Anzu muttered, stepping into the room as the enormous door slowly closed behind her.

Ren did the best impression of a shrug that a snake could, shaking his head. "Beats me... If we didn't know this guy liked penguins before though, we sure as hell do now..." That was for sure. All around them were sculptures of penguins, diving, 'posing', jumping...

And at the very back a pair of penguins actually wearing clothing, each one in a waistcoat could be seen... Each one gripping a chain in their beaks as they pulled a second door before the pair open, somehow managing to tie off the holds before turning toward the two. "... _Merk_!" Uhhh...

Anzu blinked, staring as the penguins squawked and gestured to the door. "Eh... You want me to come in?" she asked with a slight shrug.

"Well, that or they really want to dance," Ren muttered blankly, his partner frowning as she returned the snake to her wrist.

"What did I say," she warned, the snake grinning in response. "Come on... I gave you a name didn't I?" he laughed, the woman only growling further.

" _A_ name?” she asked, gritting her teeth in agitation.

Ren appeared to very quickly realize the hole he'd dug himself, coughing nervously in response. "Uhhhh..."

"Mazaki Anzu, sixteen years old," a voice called out, the two hurriedly cutting their argument short. "I wasn't aware you had a companion..." Compa- (Right, Ren...) Ummm. All that aside now...

"Yeah... Neither was I," she muttered, walking forward with a swallow.

The source of the voice in question appeared to be a large, crested penguin, dressed in a suit jacket and top hat. The penguin held before him a series of papers, a small pile sitting at his side to include what looked to be a resume. In fact she realized, stepping into the room to frown as she looked to the photo clipped onto the resume, that was...

"Hey... How did you get my resume!" she shouted, eyes wide as the penguin stared toward her.

"Now now, there's no need to panic... How I received your application is entirely unimportant right now," he continued rather plainly, "What matters is that your interview starts now!"

"I.. Interview?" she repeated, her partner as well blinking in surprise.

"Ooooh... And just what did you apply for inside a video game then?" Ren asked, uncoiling somewhat as Anzu stood before the table.

"I didn't apply for-"

"'Mazaki Anzu'," the penguin began, "In regards to the audition for lead role in the musical 'Dark Magician Girl – The Jewel of the Stage'..." ...Alright, this was definitely a dream then... "You know," the creature continued idly, "That play, despite its beginnings, has gotten quite popular... It's even on broadway now..." ...Definitely a dream. Definitely, definitely... "I have to say," he went on with a smirk, "Kaiba Corporation used to sponsor broadway shows... Gozaburo-sama's late wife was quite fond of the theatre you see, and up until her death she would constantly travel to see them. If I were back under hire in the company in fact, I don't think it would be too difficult to find you that lead role you so want," he chuckled, somehow smirking despite being in possession of a beak. Ah... L... Lead role-

Hang on... "Kaiba Corp..." Why was KaibaCorp in her dreams? That made no sense... "What the hell is..." The woman shook herself, pushing the thoughts back before looking forward with a scowl. "...No... Better question," she decided with a steady frown. "Why would you even do this for me?"

The penguin laughed at that, shaking his head and wiping a 'tear' from his eyes. "Hahahahaha! It's what you want isn't it? A pleasure to meet you in person," he continued with a grin, holding out his flipper to awkwardly shake Anzu's hand after a confusing moment of silence. "Former head of Personnel at Kaiba Corp, deceased at 55 years of age, I am Otaki Shuzo! But enough about me!" Otaki added, chuckling at the pale pallor Anzu had taken, "We have an interview to complete!" Perhaps it was good Ren was there. His bluntness and childishness was allowing her to keep focus.

"Whaaaaat?" he muttered, before being cut off by the penguin.

"Mazaki Anzu, sixteen years old," Otaki began, "Currently attending second year of highschool. Due to your father's work as pilot, you moved about multiple times when you were younger, until finally your parents divorced and went their separate ways. During summers however you still spend time with your father, during which you often attend musicals and dances, one of which was the aforementioned 'Jewel of the Stage'... Hnnn... It would seem that just recently your father was admitted into the Dal Al Fouad Hospital of Cairo after an accident involving apparent gang crossfire, news you received just on the nineteenth in fact," he added, narrowing his eyes as both Anzu and Ren tensed. "Ironically concerning the 'Rare Hunters'... You held back this information however due to lack of information and inability to check in on his condition, instead choosing not to distract your friends with the matter... When in fact, you're simply afraid he's already gone." W- How...

What... Anzu grew deathly pale, shaking her head and slowly stepping back from the penguin before her. "This... How do you know all of this?" she said with a swallow, eyes widening with fear. "How..."

"How..? You mean to tell me you doubt my vast information network?" the penguin asked with a grin. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Really... It's easy to gather information! You just need to work at it. For example... I also know that despite exemplary skills in sports and classes," Otaki continued, "You have refused membership in any and all clubs or activities at your school, taking time to instead secretly obtain a job as a waitress to earn money for education overseas. Due to an incident involving an escaped criminal however you changed jobs, ironically coming to work at Kaiba's 'KaibaLand Amusement Park' before quitting for unstated reasons and taking up a part time position at a local engraving store. A truly admirable effort in work I might add," Otaki chuckled, his addressee gritting her teeth. "But you know... To pursue such a dream... Well, even if you didn't bother, the result would be the same," he laughed. "A person like yourself, who only thinks of herself and of one small boy in the corner of the class, one boy whose future is so far out of your reach... He'll never be yours," the penguin continued, both Anzu and Ren staring with confused expressions, "And even if he was," he taunted, "Do you think you would reach your dreams? No! Because in the end, you would simply follow him around as you always do..." What...

What was this! "You... What kind of dream is this!" she burst out, eyes wide with incredulity. These thoughts, these things... She'd never thought like this! So why were they in her thoughts... "Labelling me like this... You can't do that!" she roared, only to be ignored as the penguin went on with a sneer.

"Since birth you have littered twelve times," the penguin announced, "Forgotten to turn off the tap 35 times, forgotten to turn off the lights 62 times..." What...

What... "Stop... Stop this!" she shouted, grabbing at her head. "How do you know all of this, even I don't know all of this!" Dreams were supposed to take from memory weren't they? So how could this be... How... "You're lying!" she finally screamed, the snake on her arm staring and wrapping itself around her arm for support as she shook. "Lying!"

"Hn! Mazaki Anzu... If all the people of the world knew these things about you," Otaki asked, "What do you think would happen. Wasting resources as you do... You're causing all kinds of problems," he roared, eyes narrowing in apparent rage. "Global warming, pollution! You're making the penguins suffer you know!"

"Again with the penguins," Ren muttered as he shook his head, "Just what is it with you and the penguins..."

"Those who don't understand this world... You can't even hope to make it turn the way you want if you act like that," Otaki continued, the snake on his target's arm still frowning.

"Seriously, what are you talking about..."

The penguin before them stood, table vanishing in an instant as the walls themselves began to blow out of existence. Ice fragmented into mere shards, pieces of stone broke holes into an arising sea... "Hnhnhahahahahaha... Welcome to the frozen tundra, the realm of my kind," Otaki sneered, the ice float he stood on slowly drifting away from his opponent. "Mazaki Anzu... You've 'failed' your application, but you needn't worry about a thing! When I take your body... I'll enter the real world and make you 'reborn'! The kind of woman who thinks everything of the earth!" he cackled, "The kind who cares for the world!" This...

This... "Who the hell says I'll even take that kind of sick challenge!" she roared, turning on her heels to run before the ice collapsed into the seas before her. "I'm waking up right now... I'm leaving, and- Gh-!"

"Believe me," Otaki chuckled, "You don't have a choice... And as for your 'dream theory'," he continued, howling with laughter as the woman turned, "Believe me when I say... This is far from a dream!"


	5. Sphenisciforme

The second hall seemed longer than the last, but he tried his best to run the full distance of carved stone in one shot. Conversation had only slightly dotted the air as he'd charged, and more or less the points they covered varied completely from the surrounding scenery. From the start there was worry; Noa had said 'she' was at the other end of this first part after all, and that meant that it could be anyone from Kaiba to Shizuka to Anzu, all signs pointing to the latter as they passed the carved images around them. But as to how they were doing he couldn't say, and he wished horribly that he could change that answer so that he would be able to calm down.

Another thing on their mind was Noa in general of course. His mannerisms, his words... They'd only spoken to him, at least directly, and only once after all but even then it seemed obvious that he was obsessed with something involving them, driven to replace at least one of the people he knew. Driven to replace someone without giving any signs as to who or why.

And then the 'women of the doors', the women with identical faces and expressions. From what he could tell they'd seemed Egyptian, and as he and his other self pondered their identities they had successfully identified both. At the first door after all she had born the image of a scorpion, with a tail and even claws adorning her form. With so few Gods in the former Pharaoh's old religion that were represented by such, particularly the Goddesses, it became clear that it was 'Selket'.

And then there was the second woman, completely human in appearance. Rather than any form of animal being she held a basket on her head, and pondering the clue of 'mourning' they'd decided that the woman they had seen that time was 'Nephthys'. As for who the other two were they were about to find out it seemed, the boy exiting back through the second arch and slowing to a stop. Back at the beginning...

Yugi turned to look at the arch briefly as his path disappeared into darkness yet again, before turning back to the remaining two he had to open. Here they were, he told himself with a swallow, staring for a moment before turning toward the next door. It was time to face the next riddle... "...The Byakko door..."

"Indeed..." The woman who appeared this time seemed identical to the others when she first began to appear. From the toes to her chest she was identically formed, albeit dressed in a sheer white gown that had Yugi coughing rather awkwardly as he turned away. From the shoulders up however, the boy found himself staring in confusion, the head of a lioness meeting his gaze. Fierce eyes, a closed mouth... "I assume you are ready?" she asked, the boy before her nodding in fear filled silence as his other did the same. "Alright then... Take your time. 'I have many faces but I go by one name, Many voices, but in the end one word. Many pictures hold me, but I need only two lines; from the body, to a stick, to a pair of legs. What am I?'" Hn...

This one seemed simple enough. "Many faces..."

" _Something diverse,_ " his partner muttered, the lion-headed woman before them sitting at attention as she waited. " _We'll need to be careful with this one,_ " he continued, his slight unease transferring to his lighter half. Yugi nodded, staring at the ground in thought.

"Right... That last line though, I think that one is the key," he continued, his other half seeming to frown in the back of his mind. "From a body, to a stick, to a pair of legs... ...A stickman?" Ah-

...Well, he supposed with 'stick' in the middle... That was only half way though, there was no way that was the actual answer he told himself with a frown. Although... "Hn... The legs of a stick man..."

" _Just two lines; it looks almost like 'hito', don't you think?_ " the spirit asked idly, his lighter side shrugging. Yeah... It did, he su-

"Ah! Other me!" he shouted with a jolt, "That's it!"

" _Humans? ...Ah! Of course,_ " the spirit echoed with a laugh, " _It's obvious now that you've said it..!_ " Then, the answer was...

"'Riddler'-san?" Yugi called up, the monster looking down with calm eyes as the boy swallowed. "The answer is the 'Hito'... The kanji!" At this the monster smirked, the door glowing to reveal the next path with a low and rumbling growl. "Correct; one door remains," she stated clearly as she vanished, eyes seemingly narrowed. "Good luck... The final riddle is always the hardest..."

So the next one would be hardest then... "We'll just have to hope for the best," his other muttered, Yugi nodding in response. "In the meantime... Let's go!"

* * *

It wasn't a dream, it wasn't a dream...

It wasn't a dream she repeated in her mind as her escape was cut off, the woman nervously pulling out her staff with a swallow. This wasn't a dream yet it seemed so much like one, but how would her mental decision affect this 'boss fight'? Cards...

She found herself thinking of cards in her unease, thinking back to the 'rules' she'd been given. Noa had said she would have to use a deck but...

"Hnhnhahahaaaa... Coming to terms with what I've said?" her opponent laughed, standing far across from them above the seas and floating on a single piece of ice. "This fight is life or death, 'Mazaki Anzu'! I lose and you escape... You lose," he continued, "And you'll take my place in this world right here!" Gh...

As if she was doing that!

The woman continued to stare in unease as her opponent laughed, safely kept away from her range of power by the seas below. "Hehehehehe... This battle... It'll be different from the others," Otaki chuckled, eyes narrowing in mirth as his opponent grit her teeth. "You can fight all you like, but if you don't use your deck your as good as dead! And speaking of your deck," he added, Anzu jumping as a dome of light appeared around her, "Choose your cards! And following that, your deckmaster!"

"Deckmaster..?" The normal rules didn't even apply! More over, what did she do, tap the ca-

Ah, she realized as she did just that, it was exactly like that. Back to business then...

"What the hell is a deckmaster..." Ren grimaced in response to this, looking far more serious as he turned to his partner.

"Exactly what he said," he said plainly, looking back to the field. "Deckmaster; for the duels in this game," the snake explained, "Each player picks a monster to assimilate with. This guy doesn't have a body, so he just becomes the monster," he added. "But if you pick something, it should just affect your clothes..." Ah...

Well as much as she'd like to ask how he knew all that, she supposed there was a time and place... "I see..." Well. She supposed her only option was to try and build as strong a deck as possible with that in mind then, though given that the last time she'd picked up a deck was in late April she was finding that a fair number of these cards were unknown to her. Hnnn... The woman slowly and hesitantly looked about the dome, tapping the occasional card as she spotted them and deemed their effects useful. One... Two... Three...

"Hey what about this one," her 'familiar' asked, jabbing his tail to the side in an attempt to help build the deck. "You grabbed the Dark Magician Girl right?" That one?

Anzu blinked, looking over the card. 'Sage's Stone'... "Special summon Dark Magician when Dark Magician Girl is on the field... That could be helpful," she muttered, tapping the card. "Now I just need to find the Dark Magician and- Ah!" The woman balked as the screen vanished completely, turning toward Otaki with wide eyes. "You- I still had one card left to pick!" she shouted, gesturing to the empty air. "What was that!"

The penguin merely shrugged, grinning. "Well, it's not my fault you reached your maximum number of cards! Why... Something important in there?" he asked darkly, Anzu gripping her staff with a growl. That... That... Filthy old man..!

"Hey, cool down," Ren hissed, tongue flicking in and out as he whispered. "You've got me right; worst comes to worst, we'll just try what we did last time!" Last time? With the 'double spell'? Hn!

"I highly doubt that will be enough," she muttered, the snake rolling his eyes in response.

"Hn! This is what I get for being 'nice'... Better choose your deckmaster now," he added, the woman swallowing somewhat as the screen of cards appeared before her to give her her choices in monsters.

Strange way to play a card game but... Well, she supposed it was as good as any. Anzu looked around the screens, arms crossed momentarily before swiping one of the closer ones. This one! "Dark Magician Girl!" she called out, the woman briefly appearing at her side before smoking out of existence. A choking feeling gripped her momentarily, the woman clutching her chest as the change took place. A head band appeared around the back of her hair. Black robes were dyed blue, with a sash and shawl in matching pink to wrap around her shoulders and hips. The staff itself also changed, becoming golden in colour, and as the woman opened her eyes they flashed a steady ice blue with not a single hint of the usual brown 'core' they held. The duel was going to begin... "I'm not going to lose easily!" she announced, a wave of confidence passing over her as she stared. "Let's do this! I'll go first!"

"Hoh, that's bold of you," Ren muttered, only to shrink back as his partner glowered.

"Not. Now," she snarled, gripping her staff as she charged along the icy ground in search of a path toward her opponent. Thank god this outfit came with boots she told herself, five cards appearing in her mind as the 'duel' began. "We can attack through cards or magic right?" she asked, the snake nodding in response.

"That's right; you never know when a card might help though," he continued as his partner already formulated a strategy, "And-"

"I set a card face down," she called out as she waved her free hand, 'Mirror Force' shimmering like a glass sheet at her back. "And now... Ancient Elf in attack mode!" she announced, briefly pausing from her place on the glacier as the black armored woman seemed to arise from out of the ice itself. The elf, though strong, was not nearly close enough to make her strike and though she chased behind her summoner best as she could it was evident that the 'first move' rule was in play. "Now then... While the Elf can't attack," she continued, taking her run across the glacier once more as she charged up a nearby structure of ice, "I can! FIRE!" she roared, pushing off the ice and pointing her staff forward with narrowed eyes. Steam filled the air in the resulting strike, fogging up the entire field as he ice where Otaki had stood disappeared. The ice though quickly replaced, was completely gone, and as she twirled her staff the woman had to smirk. "Hah... Easy!"

"Errrr... You might want to re-think that statement," Ren muttered uneasily, coiling around his partner's neck as the woman paled.

"What..." There...

There was nothing on the melted ice, not even a charred body, but that meant... "MY turn!" Otaki cackled, Anzu turning with a jolt as her penguin opponent shook himself off and steadied himself on the ice. The penguin momentarily pulled off his hat as he grinned, shaking it of the water it had absorbed during his dive before replacing it upon his head. "Too bad for you," he chuckled, clapping his flippers dry with a sneer. "I might be an old man, but I'm still extremely cautious! Take that card for example," he shouted with a grin. "I know full well that its a trap... So with the monster I plan to summon to the seas" he continued, flippers spread wide, "I would probably just hurt myself... Unless!" the penguin announced, "I do this first! I cast the spell cold wave," he roared, voice almost drowned out by the sound of wind and snow as he pointed toward the woman. "And following that, I summon the Giant Red Sea Snake in attack mode, with your face down card unable to be summoned this turn!"

Oh was that all it was she asked herself, glancing back at the frosted glass as she hid behind her arms. Well... That didn't seem... Too...

Bad... Um. "Gh... I can't see anything!" she shouted with a start, looking around with wide eyes as the snow continued to fill the air. "Where..." A shadow began to loom overhead, a tall and glowing shadow that resembled a twisted mix between a fish and a worm.

" _Grnnnnnnn..._ " Ah...

Ahhh... That was a lot bigger than it should have been! "S-Sea..!"

"Gh- This guy must have a power-raising ability! Run for it, run for it!" He didn't have to tell her twice..! But all the same, she couldn't tell which way was wall and which way was-

" _GRAAAAAAOOOOOOO!_ " Oh no... "HAH!" As the sea-snake launched itself forward Anzu felt herself being pushed violently to the side, grunting in pain before looking to the one who had done so. Violet armor... Or that was what had been there a split second ago. With a sickening crunch her Ancient Elf was being killed. Blood was dripping from fatal and shock inducing wounds, and as the snake swallowed the elf's body she felt nauseous. Not a dream... This...

The woman slowly picked herself up as the screen at the corner flashed her life-point count, only to bite her lip in pain as a sudden and sickening sensation came over her. "G-Unhg... What..!" Ren as well turned, staring with wide eyes at the woman he claimed 'familiar' status to. His partner had collapsed to her knees, gripping her arm close and biting her lip in pain. As the serpent stared however he found himself choking, slowly looking up to his partner's face with a swallow. "H-Hey... You might not want to look now Anzu... But I don't think you want to stretch this match out for too long," he said nervously, Anzu in the meantime biting her way through the pain she had. W...

What..? What was he talking abo-

The woman looked back over her hands, eyes wide with horror as the fingers of her left one began to fuse together. The nails had already shrunk back in fact, covering themselves with flesh, and as she was left with a thumb and 'two fingers' a thick and dense coating of black feathers sprouted over them in seconds. "This..." All of this... It couldn't be real...

It couldn't... And yet, as she stared she felt as though a curtain had been lifted, as though everything up until that point had regained astonishing amounts of clarity.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" she whispered fearfully, slowly turning to the snake on her arm as it looked away.

"No... No it's not," Ren admitted. "Kind of hoped that if you kept thinking it was a dream that you'd feel less afraid, and get out of this easier," he went on, "But no... You're not the only one stuck here," he continued quietly, looking back to where their opponent stood. "Yugi, Jonouchi, and five others... They're trapped here too," he explained, his partner paling as she followed the serpent's gaze.

The red coloured sea snake was sitting quite comfortably in the seas at the moment as the snow cleared, top half raised above the water in an almost cobra like fashion. And as Anzu stared, not noticing that her left eye had also changed somewhat in appearance, she found herself gritting her teeth in a rekindled rage. "You... What is 'THIS'!" she shouted, holding out her left 'hand' in the now cleared air. "What are you doing to me?"

Otaki merely chuckled at the rage the woman was in, the laughter quickly growing into an all out maniacal cackle. "What am I doing? It's obvious isn't it!" the penguin roared, 'shrugging' from behind his own serpent. "If you lose you have to stay here... So why not match the scenery? In fact, it's almost better this way... Aren't you 'cold'?" he asked, the woman continuing to grit her somewhat chattering teeth as Ren huddled in her cloak. "You can't tell me you aren't... At least this way, you'll be able to adapt," he continued, chuckling darkly. Gh... Monster...

This MONSTER... Anzu clenched her fists, bowing her head somewhat before a card appeared in the back of her mind. Her move. Her draw. Alright... If he was going to play it like that, then she was just going to have to ramp things up herself. Starting now! "I set a card face down!" she roared, charging along the strip of ice toward where Otaki stood as a panel of glass shimmered behind her. "And I end my 'TURN'!" the woman spat, hopping onto the icy cliffs above as she swung her staff toward the penguin in rage. "HRAAAAAAHH!"

"Hehehehhe! Then I'll set these two cards here!" the Penguin responded, hopping back from the woman's frenzied and non-cast strikes with a laugh. The shimmering panels sunk beneath the seas as he grinned, easily dodging the predicable movements. "You know, I was almost afraid," he laughed, eyes narrowed in mirth. "After you picked the Dark Magician Girl... I had to wonder what strategy you were trying to pull!" Otaki gave a final, gravity defiant hop from the woman, landing on a nearby iceberg as his opponent glared. "But in the end, on her own, the Dark Magician Girl is nothing... And you yourself must not have much power for attack left at all!" he cackled, grin widening as Anzu tensed with rage. No... She'd used it all on those cyclops when she was running...

And besides that, if she jumped now she'd just slip from the edge of that ice...

Gh... "Of course... If you have the Dark Magician," Otaki muttered, only to grin once more as his opponent paled.

"Tch... That was the card we were about to grab when the dome vanished," Ren hissed, flaring his hood in agitation as the hieroglyphs on its back stretched. "That prick... No wonder we didn't get the chance to switch a card out, he knew what we were planning!"

"Ghnnnng..." This... This monster.!

More laughter filled the air, Anzu gripping her staff tight with rage as a new card appeared in her mind. "Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA! You don't have it!" the penguin howled, holding his head with one flipper as he 'cried'. "I don't believe this! Not only can you not attack with your staff!" he laughed tearfully, "But you've made the most ignorant of mistakes I've ever seen... To put the Dark Magician Girl in a deck with the Dark Magician is only common sense, a deck with only the girl in it is like curry without pickles!"

"Curry without- what!?” the snake on her arm hissed confusedly.

"Not now," she growled to the serpent, Ren hurriedly ducking down as the woman paced toward her opponent on the ice surrounding their small patch of ocean. "You... You're a really, really annoying old man," she snarled, the fingers of her right hand digging into her staff as it splintered in her hands. "I'm going to make you eat those words right now! Go..! CYCLONE!" she announced, holding her staff forward as the card took effect. "Destroying the first of your face down cards!"

Vicious winds blew from her staff in a familiar conical formation, the woman's normal eye seeming to glow with power as she made her attack. Rather than continuing forward and catching water and ice in its grip as expected however, the woman found herself growing pale.

"Counter-trap!" Otaki had announced, Anzu finding herself blown back to land roughly against an ice wall as the cyclone was blown viciously back by a blizzard. "DRIVING SNOW!"

"Ghn!" The woman's body left a small 'crater' of sorts in the ice, sliding to a cliff on its side as she weakly pulled herself forward. "Ahck... Gh... I... I cast another spell!" she spat, clambering back to all fours before standing to take aim at the penguin that now stood below her. "Offerings of the Doomed!" Bandages sprung from an orb at the top of her staff with those words, barrelling forward to wrap tightly around the serpent before them. In an instant it was completely mummified, writhing against the bonds as it was pulled back with dull screams. Closer... Closer... And now...

_-snap_

The bandages dropped as a sick crack came through the air, both Ren and Anzu watching as the serpent's mummified corpse fell into the seas. The spell had completed, snapping the monster's neck and allowing it to die. And now... "My turn isn't over yet," she announced, glancing back as she spotted a nearby cave. If she hid in there... If things began to get too rough, and she hid in there she told herself, maybe she could find a way to restore her magic power...

Until then though, this cold...

The woman shivered violently, blowing on her trembling right hand with a wince. "Gh... I summon... ...I... S-s-s-summon..." C-Cold...

"Hey... Take it easy alright," Ren warned, curling around the woman's hand as she stared. "Here... You're freezing. Let me be your hand for a moment, alright..?" Let- Her hand?

The two shared a glance, the woman eventually nodding before she felt her mind go 'numb'...before she found herself dully watching from the sides of her own body, mind cleared. She was speaking but... How?

With the hand Ren sat upon she was gesturing to the field, to her hidden card, and as he did this, somehow moving the body through his own will...

"I reveal my set card," 'she' announced, somehow unable to care that she wasn't truly speaking. "The Fire Sorcerer!" In a blaze of flames the woman leaped up, 'Anzu' bringing her hand to the side before pointing the monster forward with her 'flipper-hand'. "Before she attacks, I activate her effect; since the Fire Sorcerer was flip summoned," she stated, an uncharacteristically sadistic grin on her face in regards to the roaring flames, "I can inflict 800 points of damage directly, by discarding two cards from my hand! So... Let's do this!" she continued with a laugh, the penguin below looking up with wide eyes. "ATTACK!"

With a curt nod the sorceress struck, charging forward with her staff at the ready. " _FIRE_ ," she roared, the first hand striking and blowing Otaki back against the ice in an instant as steam filled the air. " _FIRE-BURST!_ " she continued viciously, sending in her next attack as a flaming hand drove deep into the penguin's gut.

"G-L _AAACHK!_ "

"Hah... Yes!" Anzu hissed, the heat allowing her to clear her head as 'Ren' returned to his coiled position. The woman ducked down by the ice as her opponent was sufficiently distracted, heading into the cave to take refuge should the penguin make his move while she planned her own. Mist had cloaked the air completely now, leaving both subject to the element of surprise. Climbing down into the cave to take position near the sea-level entrance, she was able to look outside in secret to see what had happened now.

Or so she'd hoped.

The fire sorcerer was still out there of course; waiting patiently as she stood at the 'shore' of the seas. Otaki however was nowhere to be seen, cloaked completely in the every thick mist. So where...

"Hehehehehe... Not a bad move," an echoing voice muttered, Anzu tensing somewhat as the penguin's rough call came from far across the field. "I don't think I can feel my feet anymore," he muttered idly, his opponent gripping the ice wall in her left hand as she frowned. He couldn't feel? But he was a penguin, and besides that, if the 'loser' started turning into a penguin, then what could possibly be happening to him..?

"...Tch... What's with you and penguins anyways!" she shouted, voice echoing about the cavern enough to hide her location.

"Yeah," Ren added, "What, were you raised by them?" She was pretty sure that wasn't possible, though neither was all of this really.

Even so she was apparently getting her answer, Otaki taking his turn from behind the fog curtain as shadows arose before them. "Nothing so ridiculous," the man answered rather bluntly, "Though I imagine it would have been far better for me if I had... When I was young my parents were always fighting," he explained, his opponents raising their eyebrows at the openness displayed in regards to their comments. "Constantly bickering and throwing things, even when I was in the same room," he roared, echoed footsteps coming through the air. "So rather than go home after school, or remain there on weekends, I would sit by the zoo in my town... Doing my homework by the animal pens and spending as much time as I could there. It was there that I learned about penguins... Did you know," Otaki 'asked' as the others stared, "That the father and mother will take turns watching the egg, feeding the chick? Penguins... They don't fight like humans do. They care for each other, and they'll even wait until the plentiful months before letting the children go out on their own! They protect their own, no matter what! And to me, the idea of such a family was a dream!" he shouted, opponent's confused scowl softening somewhat with pity.

"A broken home," she muttered, the snake on her arm shifting somewhat uncomfortably.

"...I've heard worse," Ren muttered, Anzu not even bothering to send him a glare with the tone in the serpent's voice. Shadows could be seen amid the fog. Moving closer, and closer... One with wings spread on its top, carrying a blade...

The other wearing a hat, likely that of her opponent.

"I doubt you could ever understand my dream," the penguin was muttering, seemingly stumbling through the fog in some sort of daze. "The dream I had... The dream to work and live with penguins no matter what... Simply gaining a job at a zoo would not be enough!" he spat, voice sounding hoarse and ragged as he coughed. "With the way they're treated there... Forget it! No... I had plans to create a sanctuary," he went on proudly, "A place where people could truly appreciate the beauty of the bird! But time passed... And instead," the man went on morosely, "I found myself under the employ of Gozaburo Kaiba, working in arms distribution..." Arms?

"Eh... Doesn't KaibaCorp deal with game hardware?" Ren asked with a frown, narrowing his eyes.

"It does now," Anzu responded, swallowing as Mokuba's story at Death T came to mind. "But before that... ... ...If you wanted to make a park so bad, why did you keep working there!" she questioned, standing up somewhat to peer out of the cavern at her opponent's shadow. "Why not just change jobs?"

"Because I needed funding," the man growled. "Because to achieve my dream I would need help, funds, money that KaibaCorp could give! And when I heard that Seto Kaiba, who had planned a coup d'etat in order to take the company under his own name, was planning on building a theme park," the penguin announced loudly, "I thought I had gotten my chance! So while the others I worked with became embittered, I took it! I worked hard, I did all that was needed, even after we were effectively demoted to a figure head status," he mourned, shadow continuing to stumble almost blindly. "But in the end... When I finally gained the courage to make the proposal, emphasizing how much children and their families would enjoy the park, I was turned away! 'If it's about black and white, and being 'cute'', I was told, 'Then why not pick a panda? They're far cuter than penguins!' So after all my work... After all that, I'd been refused... By that BITCH!" he snarled, sounding almost garbled in his rage. "By that filthy, lying-"

"Ahhh... Did he just say ' _Bitch_ '?" Ren asked somewhat blankly, Anzu merely shrugging somewhat. Probably not the time really...

"I have to side with Kaiba on this actually," she admitted, shouting out toward her opponent with a shrug. "Pandas are cuter, and-" Wait wait wait, back up there... "...H... Hang on, KAIBA said this?" she asked, eyes wide as she looked out toward the fogged field. "Since when did Kaiba-"

The woman cut herself off as the fog began to clear, backing back up into the cavern with horrified eyes as the shadows in the fog were identified. The first figure was perfectly fine; a penguin with feathers similarly styled to its summoner, it wielded a sparking blade. With the feathers on its head however it seemed the penguin flew, the monster charging forward with a loud cry and cutting through the fire sorcerer cleanly... Her master doubling over in pain as it disappeared, muffling her shouts with her hand as she collapsed to her knees in the entrance of the cave. Even through this however she could see it...

See the stumbling form of the penguin she'd struck down, the frayed moth-eaten clothes revealing a slowly rotting beast. One of Otaki's eyes were missing, hanging limply from the nerves in the socket. And his feet, though still able to hold him somehow, were naught but clattering bones and bits of muscle. For Otaki after all this was his last chance she realized, the pain slowly escalating through her body. If he died, he would die, and permanently. Herself on the other hand...

"H-Hey... Anzu," Ren asked nervously, turning as the woman finally surrendered to the pain.

"Gnh... Nggh... GHAAAAHH!" The woman's staff clattered to the ground, arms around her middle as they began to grow stiff. "GHAAAAAAAAHHH! MNGGGgg... GaaaaAAAHH! AAAAAHHHHH Pain... Pain..! It hurt so much, but why did it have to hurt she cried, her screams making no sound in her mind. "AAAgghh... Gggh... MNNGG!" Anzu's hands, 'flippers' by this point, flew toward her mouth as a burst of pain shot through, no sound coming out other than grunts as she attempted to hold back a scream. Her teeth... Her teeth were fusing together, pushing forward... And the pain...

The pain! "Anzu," Ren warned, "ANZU! He's coming this way!"

"Ghhh... Ghh...!" Hurt... It hurt...

"Anz... Damn it," her snarled, abandoning the woman's wrist with a hiss. The snake hurriedly coiled around its 'master's staff, aiming toward the entrance of the cavern as the 'Flying Penguin moved toward the path leading to it. "The things I'm doing for you... 'I set a monster face down!'" he announced, a shimmering bit of 'glass' appearing as 'Skelengel' vanished from the hand of cards in her mind. He couldn't cast any magic without power after all. But if he could at least do this...

Ren turned back toward the woman, brushing against her now feathered face in apparent worry as weeping grunts of pain came in response.

"Hey... Come on," he muttered, tears running from the woman's now brown eyes. "Get a hold of yourself... It might not be a dream, but it's not real!” he shouted, his 'partner' staring back with weakened eyes. "It's only virtual, you just need to win this and get out of here alright? Alright..?"

"Ghnn... Hnn... Gh..." Fingers... Her 'fingers' were still there she told herself as she moved, swallowing while she pulled herself to her feet. Fused into groups of three... And her feet were still normal too it seemed, even though feathers coated her body... So that was good. A crashing sound came from outside the cavern to pull her from her thoughts, the woman attempting to bite her lip only to find nothing there as her 'Skelengel' was summarily cut in two by her opponent's flying penguin. Beak...

She had a beak...

And as 'Skelengel's effect allowed her to draw another card she found herself wincing, watching as Otaki's 'flying penguin' came closer with his sword in hand. "My... It's my turn, isn't it?" she rasped, the snake on the side nodding as the distance was slowly closed between the trio. Anzu slowly bent down, grabbing the staff from the ground with narrowed eyes as she swallowed. "In that case... I summon..." What could she do... "Summon..."

The card she'd drawn was 'Dark Pendant', an equip spell of 500 points. The monster she'd drawn after was 'Maha Vailo', a monster with 1550 attack points. And with those two cards an idea had formed, staff held forward with rasping breaths. She was only half there really...

_'I summon Maha Vailo in attack mode,_ ' she'd announced, the monster coming to stand before them as a 'shield'. ' _And equip her with the Dark Pendant... And_ , ' she continued, not wanting to listen to any complaints her opponent might have, ' _Using her effect, she gains another five hundred points due to the equipped item..._ '

She remembered this monster she told herself, Maha Vailo rising from the ice before her to hold a hand of energy above the oncoming penguin. She remembered talking about it...

In a dream...

An echoing blast filled the cavern, ice collapsing around them to lock them in as Maha Vailo did just as ordered. ' _The Flying penguin is destroyed!_ ' Ren was shouting eagerly, slithering up to his partner's side with a grin. ' _We're almost there, we're-_ '

"...Tired," she rasped, standing on her toes. "I'm..."

"A-Anzu..!" She couldn't move, she told herself, falling to her 'hands' and knees. She couldn't...

She needed...

"...Help..."

* * *

With each hall they passed Yugi wondered what would happen next. By this point after all they had long since passed the fourth door; they had come to the final riddle, the final Goddess, and with its completion, moved on.

' _Embrace_ ', as the answer was, from the Goddess 'Isis'. Something that ' _could not be made alone_ ,' and ' _could not exist with anger._ ' Present in times of happiness and despair both, expected between friends, desired from the forgiven, absent to the detested...

It was in that hall that this riddle continued to come to mind, a woman's screams echoing around them as they ran. " _That bastard 'Noa',_ " his other had hissed, the two forced to listen to their friend's agonized screams before they finally melted into pitiful pleas for aid. " _Forcing us to listen to this..._ "

"We're almost there," he assured his partner, swallowing in unease. "We'll be able to help her soon enough, we just need to-" Yugi's words fell short as they left the fourth hall, the doorway becoming dormant behind him as he stared. "T... This..."

" _We're back where we started!_ " the other Yugi hissed, his partner looking around with wide eyes as the four doorways stared them down. " _But how..!_ "

"Not good... Not good! We've tried all of the doors!" Yugi continued with a swallow, panicking somewhat as screams continued to echo in the air. "How are we supposed to move on..." There had to be something else here...

There had to be...

" _We're forgetting what kind of game this is_ ," his friend muttered darkly. " _Noa's sent us into a maze of riddles, it's natural to find we wouldn't escape so easily..._ " Then...

"Then there's one more riddle?" he concluded, frowning in confusion. "If we've tried all of these, there's one more that we can't find right? But if that's the case, there should be a fifth door shouldn't there?"

His other self seemed to nod, before speaking. " _Right... Lets go over what we know_ ," he decided. " _Perhaps it will help... We passed through four doors, correct?_ "

"Right," he responded with a nod. "Each one had a different riddle. In addition, each one was represented by one of the four- Ah..." Yugi blinked, bringing a hand up somewhat. Of course... "That's right... In Chinese Mythology, there's a fifth beast!"

" _A fifth? ...Ah, I see,_ " the spirit responded, momentarily gleaning his partner's memories for the answer himself, " _The 'Yellow Dragon', the 'center'!_ "

"The perfect balance between the four others," Yugi continued, looking toward each of the doors with wide eyes. "Which means that to move on, we can't just fight one door at a time..."

" _We need to fight all of them..!_ "

"Right..! Goddess-san!" he shouted, seemingly receiving no answer from either of the four. "I'm challenging the four doors all at once; I'm challenging you against the riddle of the 'Fifth Door'!"

For a moment there was again no answer. Just complete silence, with Yugi feeling somewhat embarrassed about the lack of results. With a sudden rumble however the four doors collapsed, an enormous arch rising from the ground. Carvings covered the arch completely, and carved in position about the sides were the four Goddesses he had seen. Beneath their feet were four more statues as well, a scorpion, a lion, an eagle, and a woman... At the top however with wings wide and spread stood a great and imposing chimera, long hair trailing down her back and over her shoulders to form a bare minimum of covering over exposed breasts.

"I am surprised," the sphinx stated with a regal smile, sitting on the haunches of her lion's body. "I did not expect you to come to this conclusion so quick... I suppose that as one who solved the riddle of the 'puzzle' it is only expected," she admitted, before gesturing to the door. "You wish to move on?" she asked, Yugi nodding seriously. "Then you must answer this riddle," she continued, "Using the knowledge gained from my four children. Hear me well," the sphinx shouted. "'Separate we mean nothing, together we mean everything, alone there's too many, doubled, too varied, name us as one, or be lost.' Answer wisely," the sphinx warned, crossing her arms. "I await your response..."

Separate and together... Yugi nodded yet again, bowing his head in thought.

"Alright... She says to use what we learned from the others," he muttered, closing his eyes.

" _Right; the answers to the other riddles. 'Hito', 'Mo', 'Da-ku', and 'Ki',_ " the other half repeated, also closing his eyes in thought. " _Though Hito has many variant readings, as does 'da-ku'..._ "

"And 'Ki' is known around the world as 'Chi', the Chinese term," Yugi added, narrowing his eyes. "Hnn... The first to lines make me want to think 'friend' is the answer, but-"

" _Ah- I think it is friends_ ," the other Yugi abruptly shouted, his partner blinking in response. " _Think; 'Hito' can read 'To'... Following this we have 'Mo', from mourning..._ "

"Tomo... Then, taking the 'ku' off of 'daku', we would have 'Tomoda'... And if we used 'chi' instead of 'ki'..." A grin slowly came over his face, the boy turning upward with a grin. So then it was the answer..! "Sphinx-san... We have the answer," he announced, the beast looking down with a slight smirk. "'TOMODACHI'... Friends!"

A wide grin abruptly appeared on the woman's face, and from the stone arch came a pair of doors. The gates swung inward with a resounding clatter, and before them came wind and snow that blew past with all the ferocity of a northern wind. "You have answered correctly," the Sphinx announced, arms spread outward as she began to fade from existence. "Now... Move on, but be warned! The mind of Anzu Mazaki is home to more than one being at this time," the monster announced. More than one being..? But that would mean...

" _...Oh no... Malik might still be controlling her!_ " his partner realized with a jolt, the pair growing pale. Malik...

They didn't have time then he told himself, bolting through the door with a swallow. No time at all!

"Oh no... ANZU!" he shouted, running into the frozen wasteland with wide eyes. Where... Where was she in here? "ANZU, WHERE ARE YOU!"

" _This place... It's huge,_ " his other whispered, Yugi looking around as the door vanished, leaving still more of the icy and watery plain. " _How are we supposed to-_ "

"There!" Yugi shouted, cutting the spirit off as he came to a wall of ice, a figure visible in the distance. "Past this wall... That's her isn't it?"

It certainly looked like her at least; they couldn't tell beyond the robes and hair though, and it seemed that at the moment she was barely recovering from some form of attack, clutching her middle in pain.

"ANZU!" he shouted, slamming a fist on the wall. "ANZU!" No answer... The wall was too thick. Yugi pulled out his boomerang, raising it in front of him to hack at the ice with grit teeth. Come on... Come on! "ANZU!" he shouted again, tiny scratches appearing with each strike. "ANZU, I'M HERE!" And then as a small crack finally appeared and spiderwebbed through the wall, he saw the woman turn slightly...

And suddenly, the gravity of whatever was beyond the ice became all the more frightening. " _Oh no..._ "

"Anzu..."

What happened?

* * *

She thought...

She thought she'd heard someone for a moment she told herself, 'hands' gripping at the ice and staff at her side. She couldn't well say she had hands any more of course. Quite honestly she was surprised she could hold the staff, and she wasn't sure how she was even moving, when all she felt like doing was collapsing on the spot. Maha Vailo stood in the cavern with her at the moment, pendant hanging around her neck. She felt exhausted though...

So how was she... Wait...

Where was...

"Eaaaasy there Anzu," she heard Ren mutter, her feet moving on their own accord toward the same steep tunnel she'd initially taken into the cave. "I got you... Come on," he continued to whisper, "We're just going to get out of this cave before he gets back now... Hey Vailo?" the snake added, pointing to the side by means of Anzu's own hand. "Blast a hole over there will you?"

As the magician gave a nod to do just that the woman groaned, beak clacking as she attempted to grit what wasn't there. "What... What's going on," she muttered weakly, stumbling forward. "I can't move my..."

"Ghn... Don't bother... I'm reversing the connection," Ren told her, the body moving somewhat jerkily toward the hole in the ice above. "You're still you," he continued, "But I'm moving your limbs for you until you can focus again. That last attack really did a number on you..." Focu-

"W- You're controlling my body?" she yelled, looking down only to pale. The robes fit oddly over her form now. In addition to that the feathers added considerable bulk, leaving her to swallow in unease as she looked back up toward the exit. That...

That was right, she was getting pretty far gone wasn't she... The snake looked up from where he was moving her arm, frowning. "Hn! It's either that or wait for an ambush," he muttered in excuse. "I know I don't plan on dying!"

"And what happened to 'you're not tied to me'?" she asked raising her thankfully present eyebrows as the snake stared. Ren fell silent, looking forward before again doing his odd 'shrug' impression.

"Eh... Decided it worked differently. Now... You feeling a little more like yourself?" he asked, looking back at the woman as she nodded.

“Besides 'this'?" she muttered, gripping her staff oddly as she grabbed the edge of the tunnel exit. "Yeah... I'm ready..." She didn't know how much more she could take...

But she was ready. "Good- you're in your control again then," the snake announced, eyes dimming somewhat as he appeared to collapse over her arm. "And for now... Lets see what our fat penguin friend looks like," he said with a grin, his 'partner' nodding as she climbed over the edge. While she wasn't as particularly eager as Ren was, she could probably do with seeing the results of her last attack. Alright... The woman looked over the cliff, leaning on her staff with narrowed eyes. Snow... Snow...

"Hffff!" There he was.

Down below them on the cliff stood what remained of Otaki's body, bits of muscle flaking off the rotted half of his face as he stood. Anzu tensed and drew back as the view of the penguin became more evident, audibly gulping as Ren merely stared in amusement. "You..." His voice seemed even more haggard now as he looked up to the woman, single eye narrowing in rage. "It looks like I underestimated you," he spat, Anzu swallowing nervously as Maha Vailo joined her at the cliff's edge. "But you'll regret that," the penguin continued, odd gargling growls coming from his throat as a shadow appeared under the water. "You'll regret it... I summon the Bolt Penguin in defense mode!" he announced with a haggard cough, a shimmering plate of glass appearing to the side as the arm-less, whip-wielding bird arose from the seas, "And before I end my turn, I set a card face down!" Hnnn... Well...

"It doesn't seem like too much of a problem," she muttered, nonetheless taking a defensive stance with her staff. That didn't seem like a problem at all actually. "Hnn... Maha Vailo!" Anzu ordered, the mage nodding curtly as her summoner pointed. "Attack the Bolt Penguin!"

With incredible speed the sorceress moved, skidding down the side of the cliff before hopping off the edge toward her opponent. Thunder developed at her finger tips... The magician was flanked by whirling winds and snow both, and with a single blow she ended the penguin's life by means of a solid knife-hand strike. However as the bird began to disappear a series of red chords wrapped around Maha Vailo's body, the woman struggling as her master stared. "A-Ah..! W-What!" she exclaimed, before abruptly covering her 'mouth' as a squawk escaped instead of the expected shouting sound. "What..!"

"Hehehehehe... I don't believe it!" Otaki cackled, bits of skin dangling from his flippers as he 'danced', "To think my chance came so soon! The spell you triggered was 'Revenge Sacrifice," he explained eagerly, Maha Vailo screaming before she was pulled beneath the seas. "Not only do I destroy the monster who attacked me, I can replace my lost monster... Think you can take this guy on?" he roared, the ice rising from below him as low rumbling came through the air. "Say hello to my friend... THE DEFENDER ICEBERG!" Defender...

"Ohhhh shit," Ren hissed, drawing back as Anzu did the same. The enormous golem stood before them with no visible emotion, merely blotting out the sun with its immense being. It was huge...

And it had no attack as her 'menu' told her, but in its place was a sturdy shield that would remain in place for as long as the ice could hold. "Defense mode... We can't take that thing out like this!" With a rumbling roar the iceberg's fist came forward, crashing into and destroying the cliff as Anzu and Ren both leaped to the side. "Gh! This... How are we supposed to beat this?" she shouted with a swallow, turning as Otaki continued to cackle. "How..."

It hadn't even officially attacked, and so long as she was the only thing there, it didn't have to!

"Hehehehehe... Isn't it obvious?" the penguin laughed from across her, both now at approximately sea level once again. "You aren't! And now, for my turn," he roared, a shadow appearing beneath the waters at his side, "I summon the Penguin Torpedo- and while not the most powerful monster," Otaki explained, "This monster can attack you directly! SO! Get used to that 'body', Mazaki Anzu," he cackled with a sneer, "Because soon enough, I'll be in possession of yours!"

"Hah... Hahh..! I-!"

Before she could even speak in protest the attack was launched, the penguin faced torpedo launching from the seas to face her from above. Three... Two...

In an instant the attack connected, explosive force blowing her back and far down into the icy ground. "GH! AGHhh..! Hgn..." Ow... Ow... Burns covered her skin, and slowly the woman attempted to climb out of the crater created, silently pondering how she was still alive. "Ow... Ahhh..." Pain...

A steady pulsing pain was coming over her as she reached the edge, but as she did so...

"AHHHH... HRAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Oh god... That attack... That attack had-! Cracks were coming through the air as she screamed. She could feel her insides twisting on themselves, her bones shifting and morphing... What little she had to call hands extended into the flipper a penguin had, and her legs were shortening...

"Anzu!" Ren called out, tears falling from the woman's eyes until the change prevented even that. "Come on Anzu, hang in there! We're missing our turn!" he shouted, the woman before him not caring. Pain... PAIN!

"Correction," Otaki shouted over the cries, mad cackling filling the air. "You HAVE missed your turn! And now that it's mine again," he announced with a grin, "I'm going to play the card Ocean of Regeneration to bring back that same torpedo! Say good bye to the life you once knew," he shouted, Anzu slowly turning to look up with still tear filled eyes as the torpedo approached from the air. "Like a fading candlelight, it's about to disappear! NOW... ATTACK!" he roared, Anzu closing her eyes with a wince. This... This was it... Even if she had life points left, she wouldn't be able to withstand...

- _BROUUUMMM_

Wha...

The woman slowly opened her eyes, breathing raggedly as she looked up. Above her... Her staff was pointed toward the air, as though standing on its own. Wrapped around it she could see the snake, hood flared to reveal quite clearly the 'vulture' portion of the hieroglyphs on his back. "R... Re... N... Ren... n..." What happened...

He'd...

He'd saved... "Gh... Look!" he said almost angrily, wrapped around the woman's staff. "I might have kept that last one from hitting," he snarled as he turned on the woman, "But that doesn't mean we're in the clear... I know you're in pain... And I know you're suffering! But you need pull yourself together!" the serpent continued in rage. "There's only one card that can get us out of this mess... We need to be able to attack twice, got it? That sage's stone... It might not be able to call up the real-deal Magician," he pressed, "But it'll have enough juice to get us going again... But we need to draw that card!" Ren hissed, dropping the staff and slithering toward the woman. "We HAVE to!"

Anzu coughed weakly, resembling more of a giant, slimmed penguin than a human by this point as she rolled over. "But how?" she croaked, wheezing as she began to stand on what were now webbed feet. "How can that card..." She cut herself off, shaking her head and looking toward the snake sadly. "What if it's not even the next card, then what will we..."

Ren appeared to stare, eyes unblinking as he slithered up to Anzu's arm. "There's always a 'way' with you people," he said somewhat plainly, closing his eyes with a nod. "And in this case... There's an ability that you have, one that we haven't used yet. The Deckmaster ability," he pressed, his partner frowning somewhat as she thought about that. "And beyond that, your own!" The deckmaster ability... She had one..?

_'That's right,_ ' a voice seemed to call in her mind. ' _You do... It's..._ '

"Ah..." Anzu blinked, slowly nodding as she turned toward her opponent with narrowed eyes. That was right... The second reason she'd picked this monster, the ability it had... "Otaki... I'm going to end it all this turn!" she shouted, her opponent in question raising his 'eyebrows' as she stepped forward from the crater. "I'm using my ability... BOTH of my abilities!" she roared, holding her flippers in the air with the staff she could somehow still hold. "FIRST! By removing from play each monster in the graveyard... By borrowing their power," the woman shouted, "I'll draw four more cards!"

Yet as that happened, each one flying to the screen in her mind, something else also occurred. The energy that appeared to fill the air for each card glowed, wrapping around her in a smoking embrace... And with it, the pain in her body was relieved, lifted like a curtain as the damage was undone. Feathers were vanishing... Her lips were lips again, her teeth normal teeth...

Fingers... Toes... "H-Hey," Ren muttered in surprise, Anzu momentarily ignoring the change back as she stared her opponent down. "I didn't know they could do that..." For now there was something more important. The cards in her hand. And among them...

Anzu shifted through the new cards in her mind before grinning. It was there... YES!

It was there!

A somewhat dark smirk came on her face, the woman looking forward as Otaki shuddered under the image of the restored opponent. "You... You can't... That's not possible!" he cried, only to be over powered by the sound of his opponent's voice.

"Cast the spell 'SAGE'S STONE '!" she roared, thunder striking the ground as clouds filled the sky. And as to the result...

A seal appeared beneath her feet, wind seeming to blow from beneath her. The storm clouds above darkened with rage, and winds howled despite no rain falling. Rather than summon a monster to her side however a stone appeared before her, a stone that fell into her now outstretched hand before melting into the skin. Power... An intense power beyond anything she'd ever felt rushed through her body as she took a sudden inhalation, eyes widening before she turned on Otaki. The spell had worked. Though she was not truly the 'Dark Magician' it had worked, and now it was time for the final move.

"'Dark Magician' attacks," she said almost monotonously, holding the hand forward with narrowed eyes as shadowed flames sprouted around the hand. "BLACK MAGIC!"

Thunder continued to echo about the air, Otaki shaking his head rapidly as the black flames burned forward to encompass his shield. "NO!" he screamed, backing away with a wide eye as the monster groaned in defeat. "NO, that's not possible! You never even put that card in your deck!" he wailed, ice collapsing into the seas with an immense splash. "How..!" How...

"...Hn... Because as childish as it sounds," she said calmly, the power in her hand dissipating as she took the second part of her 'turn', "The 'power of friendship' always has a way of coming through. And now," the woman continued, eyes widening further with rage, "My second ability... With the sacrifice of a few lifepoints, I can restore my magic power... And by doing that," she went on with a roar, "I can get more than enough power to attack!"

"In fact," Ren's voice added, increasing in strength and volume as the snake grew and coiled about her, his form growing intensely in size, "How about we demonstrate the power of the attack your final strike allowed us to learn?" Fire...

Fire was all around her. The enormous cobra coiled and rose above the air, mouth wide and spitting venomous sparks as still violet eyes turned downward. An eye blazed on both of their brows as the flames continued to roar, and it was under that same eye that Otaki shrank away from in fear.

"ANZU!" Ren roared, sounding all too eager to strike the old corpse down, "ARE YOU READY?"

"Always! INFERNEO!" they roared simultaneously, the snake striking forward with a roar of flames as Otaki screamed. Smoke and steam both filled the air beneath the cobra's attack. Otaki's screams, though pained and agonizing in tone lasted only a moment however and as his shadow vanished so did parts of the scenery. The waters of the sea receded, falling back until they were left with the vast and deep canyons from before. The ice and snow melted and washed away with it, and the clouds above parted in response. Snowstorms and hail cleared in lieu of a beating sun, and as she took her last breathe, the colours fading from her outfit to return to the former black and gold she thought she heard a voice...

_'Anzu,_ ' he was calling. ' _ANZU!'_ That voice... She'd recognize it anywhere, she thought in relief.

Ahhh...

He'd come for her...


	6. Where It All Began

Blistering heat was a comfort by this point she told herself as she slept. It was nothing after all compared to the frosted hell she'd just escaped, and the combined trauma of a near body-snatch she had gone through. A small smile graced Anzu's face as again human hands were caressed by a dusty breeze, hair blowing in her face beneath a brightly shining sun. It was peaceful now...

A drowsy period of time that made her want to simply stay there for hours on end. She'd won after all; she deserved a break, didn't she? Yet for all that had happened there wasn't time to sleep she told herself, that fact knocking just lightly on the back of her mind. And as her senses slowly returned to her, she could feel a hand on her shoulder, and feel herself being rolled over somewhat. 'Anzu,' someone called, her eyes slowly opening as the source of the voice continued. 'Anzu... Anzu!' Faded...

Distant...

And suddenly it cleared completely. "Anzu!"

"Hnn..." The woman slowly sat up, blinking as the vision of her friend came into view. Yugi...

It was... ...Ah! "Y ...Yugi... Hng..." He was here... She had to get up then, she had to-

A rush of dizziness swam over her as she attempted to stand, finding herself collapsing rather uncomfortably atop the boy instead of helping him up as intended.

"Hnng..."

"Ahck! Ah..! A-Anzu," Yugi rasped, coughing as he was pushed against the ground. "Anzu, you probably shouldn't try to stand but... I... I think you're crushing my... Ghk..." He cut off with a wheeze, looking away awkwardly as his friend held silent.

...Oh... She was on top of him now...

For some reason she couldn't feel upset about that; if anything, she was glad. After all, he was here right? He was here... He had come for her, and she was... She was... "Yugi," she choked somewhat, her face currently nestled on the boy's vest. "I... ...I..." Why... Why did she feel like crying? Why was she... The woman's hands clutched at her friend's vest as Yugi managed to squirm out somewhat, only to freeze and remain in place as Anzu cried at his lap. "Ah... Ahh _hhhhnnn_... Uaaaaah... This... All of this..!" Anzu continued to cry, arms wrapped around her friend's waist as she choked. "I couldn't remember anything!" she wailed, the boy staring in confusion. "From the alley where I was taken with Jonouchi and up until just a few hours ago," she continued miserably, "I couldn't remember anything! On the air ship, and at dinner... What's happening?" the woman choked, her friend slowly attempting to comfort her in regards to the sudden and unexpected breakdown. "What's going on..? I... I'm so scared... I'm so... I've never felt so..."

Yugi frowned, recovering from the fall back as he looked to the woman. She was right. She'd... Never been like this, at least not when he'd last seen her, but... "Anzu..." The boy swallowed, before working up the courage to pull his friend close in response to the 'cling' he was under. "It... It's okay, alright?" he said honestly, feeling somewhat nervous himself. "We're going to get out of here and... We'll find out why you can't remember anything alright?" he continued, clearly not sure as to why that might be happening in the first place. Just what reason would Anzu have to just... Forget all of that? "We... ...We'll..."

Yugi quieted as his friend continued to shudder in his arms, the boy looking around the now dry and arid canyon cliffs blankly. What did he say... He didn't even know what to say, so what could he possibly...

“...This place..."

Anzu sniffed somewhat, pulling herself up to lean somewhat against her friend in a more stable and seated position. "It's the grand canyon," she said quietly, looking out at the sky as she swallowed. "I came here once, when I was little," the woman continued. "My dad was busy with another move, so... My grandparents offered to take my mother and I on a vacation while that was sorted out..."

"Your dad..?" Yugi stared, as though just realizing that he'd never heard about the man until this point. "That's right... I've only met your mom," he muttered, shaking himself. "What does your dad do Anzu?" What did he do?

She wiped her eyes, lowering her gaze. She hadn't spoken about her father to anyone really. Then again no one had ever asked, so why would she bother? "Dad... Dad's in the Air Force," she said with a swallow, turning to her friend as she continued on. "He's been in there a long time... Because of that we had to move a lot though," the woman told him, shaking her head. "And in the end, Mom couldn't handle it, so she divorced him. I still get to see him of course," she added quietly, holding her arms close as she spoke. "During his small bit of time off, he'll take me on a trip to the US to see a dance show, or a musical... But recently..." Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and she shook as she bowed her head to hide the expression. "Dad was part of a team sent to Egypt for an 'Airlift' mission... I didn't know the location until now because he couldn't say, but he'd told me he'd be able to visit a few days ago... But instead of getting a call from him," she explained, voice reaching a fever pitch in panic, "I found out that he... That he... Gh..." Anzu continued to shake as the call came to mind again, holding her head in her hands.

' _Mazaki-san_ ,' they'd told her... ' _We're sorry to say that we are calling with upsetting news... But your father was recently injured on duty. He's been admitted to the hospital_ ,' they continued quietly, ' _But he is in critical condition, and we're not sure that he'll-_ '

A small hand was placed on her shoulder, Yugi looking to her with worry as she turned back. Yugi... "Anzu," the boy asked, clearly sympathetic of the situation. "Why didn't... Why didn't you say..."

"Is it childish to say that I used to think he was 'invincible'?" she whispered, a sad smile on her face as she turned away. "He was always so proud when he was sent out for a post in a peace-keeping mission, or even just to help out with some problems elsewhere in the country... But he was never injured," she continued, shaking her head. "Never... And then, just last week, it turns out he was caught in 'Gang Fire', with the rest of his team and whatever he was supposed to guard forced to leave without him! It's just... It's not fair!" Anzu cried, curling up slightly as she bit her lip. "After all that time, he was finally going to be somewhere close... And now... I'm scared!” she repeated, realizing now what was truly forcing the tears. "I don't know if I'll ever see him again... I don't even know if he's dead, or... Or..."

Yugi stood, slowly pulling his friend's hand up with a worried stare as the woman again turned to look at him. "...Anzu," he whispered, the woman in question staring back in silence. ...He was worried. Then again... Of course he was worried she told herself, when did she ever act like this? Rather than the 'boyish' manner she was so known for? She wasn't the sort to cry about things, she wasn't...

Anzu nodded, pulling herself up and grabbing her staff from the ground for support as she turned away. "I'm sorry," she muttered, shaking her head. "Seeing me like this..."

The boy shook his head, smiling sadly. "It's fine... Really," her friend said with a nod, looking up at the woman. "I'm just worried..." Yes... She knew that.

But right now, there was something else to do. "I'll be fine," she assured the boy, nodding her head with another sniff as she calmed herself. "Really... I just needed to get that off my chest. To tell someone... And..." Anzu slowly paled, eyes widening as she realized something else about the situation. She was here...

And so was Yugi, but then that would mean-

"And oh god... The others! Yugi," she hurriedly asked, her friend jumping at the renewed strength in her tone, "Yugi, the others, are they al-"

The boy nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah- They're all here," he answered, quite clearly upset about the matter. "Jonouchi-kun, Shizuka-san, Honda-kun... Otogi-kun, Mokuba-kun and Kaiba-san... Besides us, they're here as well," he explained, "But I can't find them..." All of those people...

Oh god... Anzu swallowed, bringing a hand to her face as she paled. "Just what kind of thing are they going through then?" she whispered, shaking her head. "I mean... After that battle..." The woman turned to the side of the cliff, staring at the ashen remains of her opponent. After the business with the penguins, and the fight...

Speaking of the battle...

"...Ah! That reminds me!" She hurriedly ran over to the pile of ash at the edge of the cliff, Yugi blinking and following behind. Just at the edge the woman knelt by the pile, shouting as she came to it. "Ren..! ...Ren!" Hands lightly dug at the ashes, the small golden cobra giving a yawn as the ashes were removed. A majority of them appeared to have stained the markings on his scales; the hieroglyphs were now a solid black, and easily identified. Ren however seemed to not notice, instead turning as Yugi came over before tensing considerably- his hood nearly flared completely, partially revealed in the face of the boy, and as her friend skidded to a stop the serpent refused to turn his gaze. Thankfully however, he seemed to calm on contact with her arm, and within an instant he had settled around her wrist in his usual position.

"Ah... A snake?" Yugi asked, the cobra in question looking to the boy with rolled eyes.

"Great; another genius," he snorted, the woman he clung to feeling much better for reasons unknown to her.

She fixed the serpent with a look, quite clearly unimpressed. "Ren..."

"Whaaaaat?” he asked, turning back up. "Just saying; you see a cobra and that's the first thing you say? Come ON!"

Yugi blinked, staring for a few moments before shaking his head. Evidently talking snakes were simply beyond his understanding at the moment, and not something he needed clarification on. "Eh... Anzu," he instead asked with a cough, scratching his head. "Who is this?"

Hn? Oh, the snake... "Ren," the woman said with a small smile, lightly stroking the serpent's head. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly he responded quite well to this, initially tensing with a shocked scowl before melting into peace as the woman continued. "This is Ren," she repeated almost happily, "And he's apparently my 'familiar'... Whatever that means. I took the 'Black Mage' class," she added with a shrug, the snake continuing to hiss in comfort as the woman lightly rubbed his scales, Yugi merely tilting his head.

"Ah... Familiar?" her friend repeated, Ren appearing to glare lightly at the boy in response. "...Are you sure?" he continued, "Noa has been doing a lot of strange things, trying to get into our heads... I don't think that any of the classes come with 'pets'..."

"PET!?" Ren hissed, his hood successfully appearing in full before he was cut off.

"Oh believe me," a fourth voice chuckled, its owner evidently amused by the entire event. "This is most certainly not my doing..."

"Nn!"

"Noa!"

The group turned, Ren immediately becoming alert as the serpent and the boy shared looks. Evidently 'Noa' was considered more of a threat to the snake; beyond a flared hood his fangs were bared and dripping with venom, threatening hissing filling the air. "Sssssssfff! You!"

Noa merely smirked, shaking his head as he hovered before the trio. "I see that you've realized the true intent of this game," he said calmly, looking to Anzu as the woman scowled. This 'boy'... He'd strung her along this entire time, and he dared to throw that in her face? Gh... "I also see that you haven't quite figured out everything else... Such a pity about your father," the boy added darkly, Anzu tensing even further in response. "Who knew a gang centered on cards could be so... 'Violent'," he continued, seeming to glance at 'Ren' as the serpent continued to hiss.

"Why don't you just stuff it in your tiny little receptacles," he growled, the boy chuckling as Ren was habitually 'shushed' by the woman he was partnered with.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Seems to me that your 'familiar' is quite the concentration of your rage," he laughed, narrowing his eyes in suggestive mirth. "Why, if I didn't know any better," the boy continued on, "I'd say he's either mimicking the emotion from you or stealing it outright!" Stealing?

"What are you talking about?" Anzu hissed, Noa merely smirking darkly in response.

"Ohhhh... Who knows really," he chuckled, a large stone arch appearing behind him with the words. "But you know 'Yugi', if you hadn't thought it was easy coming into your friend's mind," he continued, "You certainly will in a moment. The relationship between you two is one thing," Noa added, crossing his arms as Yugi frowned, "But between your other one..."

"Other?" Anzu repeated, narrowing her eyes as the others stared. "What do you mean," she shouted, "There's six other people here!"

Noa continued to smirk, seemingly fading out in a flash of smoke before appearing again at the top of the enormous archway. "Well, that's for you to find out, now isn't it," he chuckled, narrowing his eyes. "You two are open with each other," the boy explained, "Or at least enough to pass through with the bare minimum of trickery. This mind on the other hand..." He rapped on the entrance with the toe of his shoe, grinning almost wickedly. "Hard as stone..."

"Gh... NOA!" Yugi shouted, narrowing his eyes. "What are you doing with the others?"

Still more chuckling came through the air, Noa merely shaking his head. "As I said before," he told them, fading from existence while he spoke, "That's for you two to find out for yourselves... Hnhnhnhnhnhn..."

And with that, he was gone.

"Gh- Bastard!" Ren hissed, the others holding expressions that said just as much about what they thought of the boy. "Come on! Let's get him," the snake spat eagerly, "Show him a taste of the 'inferno'," he continued, turning to Anzu as the woman flushed.

"A-AH- Hey!" she responded incredulously, "We don't even know where he is!"

"No... But we know that one of the others is past this door," Yugi continued, looking to the arch with a swallow. The woman turned, looking from Yugi to the door with a nod. That was right... ...Ah...

"Hey... Do most of your friends even know how to duel?" Ren asked somewhat dryly, currently coiled around Anzu's shoulder for a more easy view of things.

"I think that Ryuzaki-kun taught Shizuka-san," the boy responded, turning somewhat as a slight breeze passed. "In fact, Shizuka-san seemed more worried that she didn't have her deck with her, so I think she might actually duel regularly." A small sound seemed to come over the air with those words, Anzu as well turning with a frown. Somewhere far in the distance...

Was that...

"Did someone hear a sneeze?" Anzu muttered, Ren 'shrugging' in response.

"Nah," he said plainly, "That was just you. Now then! So that's one down," the snake decided with a yawn. "What about your other two guys?" he continued, "Black-hair-guy and brown-hair-guy?"

"Um... You mean Otogi and Honda?" his partner asked dryly, the serpent again 'shrugging' in response as his tongue flicked.

"Hey, not like I'd know," he offered in defense.

"Well you know," Yugi began, cutting the two off, "Otogi should be fine... He's pretty good with most strategy games," the boy explained, "And actually created a few small-time ones himself. In fact," he added, scratching his cheek almost nervously, "If it hadn't been for the 'Black Clown' disaster, I think his 'D-D-D' game would have done fairly well..." Very true...

After the black clown, Otogi was put in a pretty bad spot, but if it hadn't been for that...

"On the other hand," Yugi continued, "When you think about Honda..."

Anzu blinked, before biting her cheek with a wince. "Ah... That's right," she muttered, "He doesn't duel at all does he..."

"He's terrible," Yugi added with a moan, shaking his head.

Ren appeared to stare at the two in response to this, before turning to face the door that stood before them. "Hohhh... In that case we better move, shouldn't we? Given that these guys came close to beating you two," he added, looking to the pair for their reaction. The two both nodded in agreement, moving toward the arch as the snake continued on. "By the way," he said somewhat idly, looking away from Yugi as I spoke. "I like the vest; black leather. Suits you. It's pretty 'bad-ass'."

Yugi's response was the expected red-faced blush of embarrassment as he opened the door, needless to say.

* * *

"This... Is the wrong one."

For the past few moments Seto had been more or less shocked silent, standing motionless as the sounds of weeping passed over her and faded into darkness. Mokuba had placed all of his own attention on her as a result of the incident in fact, and whether or not this was a good thing could be debated; after all, while it meant he didn't see much more of the hospital scene it did mean staring at his clearly _not_ fine older sister, wondering just what it was that could have possibly shaken her.

With Kisara's words however she was snapped back into reality, fists clenched as she turned on the girl in a more than evident rage. "YOU," she spat, drawing her blade and running toward the child in an instant. "You MONSTER!" The blade was raised high, prepared to cut the girl in two as she screamed. Mokuba was staring in shock but saying nothing, merely standing in place as the sword was held high. But as Seto stared at Kisara with rage filled eyes she was met with blank, dull blue ones, staring, piercing...

And in the end the blade fell to the ground in a clatter, shaking hand brought down into her steady one's grip as she ground her teeth.

"Ghh... Hng..." She couldn't... She couldn't...

' _You... You saved my life,_ ' a young voice whispered in the back of her mind, sounding more like a young woman than the girl before her. _'Who are you?_ '

' _...Set_ ,' a voice answered. _'Set, of the village ash._ ' Tch... Those memories...

They weren't hers she told herself with a wince, and yet...

Yet... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." Chuckling echoed through the air as Seto held her head, shaking somewhat in the darkness. "Hard, isn't it?" a voice whispered, misting behind them into the form of a young boy. Mokuba jumped back into his sister as Noa appeared, a grin in place as he hovered in the air for the added 'height' required to speak above his 'guest'. "To kill someone you cared for... You just can't do it, can you?" he continued, narrowing his eyes.

The boy smoked from existence and into the air as the woman pulled herself from thought, snatching her blade off the ground with a growl. "Gh... Hold still and you'll find out just how much I 'care' about you," she spat, blade gleaming in unseen light as she renewed her stance. "Now show yourself!"

"Now now," the boy warned with a sigh, smoke seeming to seep through the area. "Let's not be rude... She was just trying to help," he chuckled, appearing high above the siblings. Help? Hah! She swore to hell itself that when she got to this kid, nothing was going to stop her from tossing him into the nearest patch of shark infested waters...

"Noa," she snarled, tightening her grip on the sword. "Come down here and face me directly!" Noa appeared to raise his eyebrows, a faux expression of consideration over his face as he looked down.

"Hnn... With that sword," the boy questioned, raising his eyebrows. "I don't think so," he decided with a smirk. "Besides; there's something you need to see before you can meet your opponent," he told them as he shrugged, "And Kisara is going to find it for you." Find it?

...'This isn't it'...

Her memories then! Ugh! "In other words," Seto growled, fists shaking with anger as she nonetheless held her stance, "You're going to dig through our heads until you find it!"

"Hn... It sounds so violent when you put it like that..." It was violent, it was invading her subconscious! The woman's thoughts were cut short however as Noa continued to speak. "I suggest you listen to what this girl has to say," he warned, a dark smirk appearing as he vanished into smoke once more. "After all... I don't see any other way out of this place, do you?"

A door appeared to Kisara's side at that, Seto's teeth grinding while their captor vanished completely. "Bastard... BASTARD!" she roared, grip on her blade tightening further as the sword shook. "COME BACK HERE NOA!" Mokuba as well appeared more than displeased, a thick scowl on his face as the 'room' fell silent. There was no response...

Noa was gone, and they were left with a mute guide. "Tch... Great," the boy muttered, "So our only escape is through these doors then..." Those doors...

Hn! "There's probably something," she growled, crossing her arms as the sword was replaced at her hip. But what... What other way did they possibly have...

"There is no escape," Kisara stated plainly, apparently unaffected by the words. "As Noa-sama said; you must witness the correct 'memory', and you must follow me until I find it." The girl before them took hold of the door handle at her side, pulling it open as it increased in size to encompass the front of the room. "Perhaps... This one," she said monotonously, Seto going white as the familiar sound of a truck's horn came over her ears. That sound...

"Gh-!" Mokuba was snatched from behind without another word, face pulled into her robes and armor as the woman covered her brother's ears. "Nee-sama!" he protested, pushing against her grip as the woman held him close. "Nee-sama, what-"

"Trust me," she muttered, eyes wide as she stared at the ground. "You don't want to see-"

This. A rush of wind blasted through her, the truck slamming in, through, and past the two as it smoked around their form.

_'NO! MOKUBA_!' a voice shouted, ' _KASERI_!'

Seto bit her lip, bowing her head as the familiar scene replayed before them. The sound of screeching tires filled the air... And the truck's cargo capsized, falling on its side as multiple other cars drove into its rear or even the sides. And fires lit the area, springing from the candles that had lit the streets, from the gas that dripped from the vehicles...

She could see herself pushed to the ground among the wreckage, Mokuba held close, as her father lay prone at the front of the truck. " _D...Dad?_ " she'd whispered fearfully, her eyes just as wide as her present counterpart's were.

"Nn... Hn... K... Kas... 'ri," the man rasped, eyes growing dull. "Protect... ..."

She'd remembered it differently the woman noted with weakened eyes, grip on Mokuba slipping as the boy moved to turn. Her father...

Her 'dad'...

He'd died before he could finish his sentence. He'd...

"Wrong," Kisara said plainly, Seto slowly turning on the girl as the scenery shifted. "This one then." Another-?

Mokuba and Seto both turned with a jolt, eyes wide as they were suddenly standing before a coffin. Incense burned before them, filling the room, and just ahead they could be seen with their aunt.

_'We're sorry for your loss,_ ' everyone was saying. ' _So sorry..._ ' "This..."

"This is..."

Themselves. They were witnessing themselves, at their father's funeral.

And Kisara had no reaction. "Also wrong," the girl repeated, the mutterings of Buddhist sutra disappearing from around them as they moved to a crematorium. In the place of a sunlit room were now almost pure white walls, and the majority of the crowd had vanished in the place of their Aunt and Uncle. Her aunt's hand had been on her shoulder, in the appearance of comfort... Yet while she held her hand there it was quite clear that she was more depressed over the loss of her brother than willing to aid her niece and nephew in that time. More horrified at the loss of her brother to such an accident. More _loathing_ perhaps, toward the ones who had caused him to be killed in the first place.

The casket was slipped into the chamber... Flames wrapped around the box in the chamber, and in her minds eye she could see it lapping hungrily at the sides quite clearly, even now. ' _Why are they burning him,_ ' Mokuba was crying, the current one biting his lip as tears developed in his eyes. _'WHY? Why are they burning him! Daddy! DADDY!'_ Seto tightened her grip on Mokuba's hand and shoulders, her brother struggling not to cry as Kisara continued to stare in indifference.

"Still wrong," she stated almost coldly, before they stood at the front of a grave. There was another stone just a short distance away from them...

'Honda Kimura', 'Honda Hisao' it read, the words only coming to her mind because they had passed them on the way to their 'place'. She didn't remember much of this day. Mokuba and herself were both still gripping each other's hands as the smaller versions of themselves did the same. All she knew was that it had been the last time they visited the tombstone, and that...

That they weren't alone back then.

' _Hey,_ ' a young woman greeted, coming up beside them with a sympathetic smile on her face. They'd turned, blinking as the likely just twenty year old woman held something out for them. It was a rice ball... Mokuba had quite eagerly taken one already at that time, and at the moment the past version of herself was hesitating. In the end the woman had given her a look of understanding, eyes sad and quite clearly moist themselves. ' _Did you lose your parents too?_ '

The boy behind her had turned to look at them.

His face seemed familiar and his sister turned back with a worried frown as the younger version of herself took the riceball. ' _Hiroto, come over here,_ ' she called out, not standing from where she knelt down. ' _I don't want you wandering off..._ '

'Hiroto' had scowled in response, crossing his arms in rolled up sweater sleeves. _'I'm not going to get lost!_ '

' _No, but I don't trust that blond kid hanging around your school, and I spotted him by the entrance earlier,_ ' she told him with a frown, the boy merely groaning as he looked back to the gravestone he stood before. ' _Don't think I didn't catch you calling him to do that, you know what I think of him!_ '

' _Aggggh, come on ane-san! We're in the same class, just because he's blond doesn't mean he's a creep or anything... Honestly!_ ' Hn! Try explaining that to the majority of Japan...

...But hang on, Seto thought to herself, looking closer at the boys face as he scowled. This face... The mentions of a blond 'delinquent'... And 'Hiroto'...

"Honda Hiroto..." she muttered, narrowing her eyes in thought. In the memory, 'Noriko' as she was called gave them a few more rice balls, the two siblings taking them soberly before giving their thanks. She told them not to worry about what happened to their parents, and that no matter what, they had to move onward to things. That things would look up.

They'd never seen them again. And after that...

"Wrong," Kisara's voice hissed again, and once more, the scenery shifted. Noriko and her then eight year old brother disappeared into smoke on the wind, and as Seto closed her eyes in the face light that resulted both herself and her brother had to grind their teeth. This...

All of this, these memories... Their worst memories, supposedly hiding something 'else'...

The vision cleared and in an instant both of them found themselves staring with wide and blank eyes, tongues held in shock. "N-Nee-sama," Mokuba whispered, hesitantly stepping forward as they looked to the gates they now stood in front of. "This..." This was... "The orphanage we stayed at," her brother continued, watching as a pair of children walked on their own to the gates.

The orphanage... "...Damn this 'Noa'," she cursed, narrowing her eyes. "Damn him..!"

And behind her, Kisara said nothing.

* * *

The desert was known for its harshness. It was also known for the great beating sun that was both loved and cursed by its denizens, a place where water was as rare and treasured as gold in the furthest regions. It was known for howling jackals that prowled its night skies, and for the eerie barks of the fennec fox, for the slithering cobra and the scraping, rasping sounds of the sawscaled viper. It was home to what some of the world considered the most feared arachnid, the scorpion, and it was known as the largest region of its kind.

But mostly, it was known for sand. Lots. And lots.

Of sand.

As he walked through this sand however, he could see flashes... Two children running along side him, with one or two goats with them as the rest walked behind. Each time he paid attention however, each time he stared, they vanished- leaving him standing with his staff in the middle of a 'sand storm' as a faded mirage and the sensation of a happy memory vanished.

" _Keep moving Merea_ ," the 'ghost' told him when this happened, Katsuya staring at where the last illusion had stood before nodding. " _We're almost there, just keep moving_."

"Righ'," he muttered, taking a step forward only to freeze with dull surprise. All about him the sands vanished, as though simply deleted from existence. And for a brief moment, great and almost draconic cliffs stood before him, clawed stone reaching out from around a number of ancient styled clay buildings. A village of yellow-white stone, filled with people in robes with smiles on their faces as they went about their business. But it was only a moment...

And in an instant all but a small outcropping of stone vanished from the cliffs, with the buildings reduced to near ground level rubble amidst shards of broken pottery and rusted blades. Katsuya swallowed as he entered the ghost town, looking from building to building as their forms flashed in his mind. He could hear children laughing as they played with clay horses and cheetahs... See ghosts of them running through the streets before each vanished in a blaze of fire.

Before they turned toward him and shouted for someone with the tone one would use to tattle on a sibling.

' _Leave, TRAITOR!_ ' someone roared, their angered face hidden in shadow as the sensation of something wet came across him. ' _You're not welcome here, with your LIES_!' The blond wiped his face, frowning as he found nothing there. That...

Felt almost like he'd been spat on he told himself in slight aggravation, and yet...

A dull wind passed, and he looked around with a frown. There was nothing but dust there. Nothing but dust and a deserted ruin. "Where is this place?" he whispered, wiping the sand from his fingertips. "What is th's..?"

" _It is an old and long abandoned village_ ," the ghost said plainly, voice tight as Katsuya looked around. " _Hidden from the outside world until just recently... It was a village of trade, and at the same time, a village of outcasts... You seemed to manage better than most though,_ " he added, his 'friend' merely walking through the sifting sands. " _Perhaps that is why they detested you so_." Detested eh...

The blond said nothing in response to that comment, merely continuing on his way with a confused and altogether out of place expression on his face. All these ruins... He could hear the bustling of a haggling merchant on the side, attempting to convince a man to sell the gold he was peddling from a raided tomb. He could hear the surprised screech as a woman carrying wheat was almost toppled over by her running children, and the resultant giggles from the pair as they were cursed at from afar. And a well. He could see-

Katsuya froze as he came to the large hole in the center of the ruin, frowning at its appearance. Alright... There used to be a well there, and closer toward him just ground for that matter but... "Ah..." There was something there... "...A cavern..."

The blond knelt down, peering into the well lit hole with squinting eyes as he attempted to make out the bottom. It looked almost as though something had burst out from there, and that the well had simply been a casualty in that line of fire. There was a small wall dividing the cavern in two, or at least the ruins of one, and from the rocks along the ground it was fairly obvious the wall had been broken from the 'inside'. As for stairs that would take him there...

He looked up, moving around the gaping hole toward the half sunken cave at the side. There were two entrances from what he could see in there, but given that this was closest... Not to mention more familiar he thought idly, frowning somewhat.

Hnn...

"I've been here before, haven' I?" he asked, approaching the hole to look at the 'stairs' leading downward. "Th's place... 'Ve been here, haven't I."

" _That's right,_ " his 'friend' answered promptly, almost seamlessly following the blond's thoughts in order to pursue the conversation. " _Not often though,_ " the ghost added, " _For as honest and honorable as you were, you were more often than not chased out of the boundaries of the village whenever you came close to the center. Lucky for you,_ " he added somewhat dryly, " _You only came during the wet season; which thankfully meant no problems with water, a fairly high source of importance in such a place as this. Their tempers were lower_." Ah...

Yeah, water was probably important in the desert, wasn't it. Katsuya kept silent as he walked down the steps, hand tracing along the sides of the spiralling path until he came into the first cavern. The hole more or less centered around this area; it had been broken out from the inside and in the middle, and in his minds eye he could tell that in both the past and future it was resealed, covered with sand within a short amount of time. The moment in time that he stood in now was merely a half way point, a brief period of ruin and misery that reeked of unrest. This was what made up the chamber as a result; sand, dust, and fallen brick.

The rest of the chamber however was strange and out of place. To the side there was what seemed to be a funeral pyre, topped by an enormous vat meant to hold molten metals. To the other side was a ruined altar of sorts, and a hall that passed to the other room. A hall that was more or less made useless by the lack of a wall in the room. Closer to the center however and just before the funeral pyre, was a great domed stone, carved into the shape of some strange sarcophagus mold for various items. Stone blocks sat to the side as well- stone that had only slightly weathered, which had been pounded into bits to free whatever the mold had created. As to what those were...

It was blurred. "Hn... Well tha's a lil' anti-cl'matic," the blond muttered, passing the stone by as screams came through his mind. Katsuya held his head a moment, wincing before moving toward the other room. Maybe he'd find out eventually. Find out what connected the screams to the mold, what made this place so important.

Or maybe...

"...Hey... You know what this thing w's used f'r?" he asked the ghost in his mind, receiving a pause in response.

" _...Something terrible_ ," the ghost said plainly, Katsuya frowning somewhat at the cold and flat tone used. " _Not something I would enjoy speaking of,_ " he added, quite obviously wanting nothing to do with the subject. Oh...

Probably something personal then he thought to himself, looking around the second half of the chamber as he approached the fallen wall. What little remained of the hole was more than enough to illuminate the area, despite the sun suddenly trading places with the moon when he'd come down the steps. Passing the ruined and nearly vanished well that had once travelled up to the grounds above he could see carvings of all kinds along the walls, depicting dragons, eagles, and monsters beyond any he had seen even on tv. Unlike the tablets of Egypt however, or of the field, the monsters were not bound it seemed. In fact as he brushed a hand along the wall, he couldn't help but think that they were not even true 'monsters' at all. That they had been a 'people' in their own right, not bound to whatever 'other realms' his own cards had spoken of.

"I've seen these b'fore," he found himself whispering, remembering a hand far smaller than his own brushing against the stone in the same fashion. "These carvin's... I've seen 'm," he muttered, the monsters appearing to flicker off the stone in simple and flowing movements.

" _Indeed you have_ ," he received from the ghost in response, the spirit apparently over whatever caused him to tense previously. " _But only a few times. While it's true you came down when you could_ ," he continued softly, " _That was long ago, and soon enough an impossibility. After adulthood_ ," the shade explained, " _You came here only twice before death..._ "

Death?

The spirit snorted at the sudden thought he'd gleaned from the blond, likely shaking his head. " _Hn! You didn't think that you lived for so many years did you?_ " he asked, Katsuya frowning while the spirit went on. " _I don't even know if you are who I think; certainly you look and sound like him, but the fact remains, it is still you. I can't begin to fathom why such a reincarnation would happen... In fact, I had been almost certain it was someone else until recently... ...but these memories..._ " Eh-Ehhh...

Someone else out there looked like him? Damn this was confusing. The blond sighed, shaking himself. In all honesty, he'd be better off not asking he supposed. He'd just end up more confused and really, he didn't want that... "Righ'," he muttered, taking a seat along one of the far walls by a ruined pillar as he continued to shake his head. "'F course..." Of course...

Katsuya closed his eyes as a breeze blew a few bits of sand into the hole, the light shifting from night to day as walls appeared in his mind. As carvings restored themselves, light returning to the rooms. Slowly he opened his eyes, the sand falling from his shoulders. The well was repaired. Standing tall, an enormous pillar in the center of the room. And standing before him with his back turned to the blond...

"...Me..?" No...

That 'other' him, from his dreams he realized, narrowing his eyes at the darkened skin. But he was younger here, younger than even Mokuba. He wore nothing but a tunic tied down with a sash, and he sat before the somewhat worn halls in curiosity as he stared at the immense and varied carvings of what looked to be three great deities dividing from a fourth. He didn't find himself questioning why he was alone in the chambers though; from what he knew, these caverns were always empty...

" _Or at least,_ " the spirit added, " _They were for all but one week of the year._ " One week?

The blond found himself standing, narrowing his eyes as the smaller 'him' continued to stare at the wall. Despite the presence of the ceiling the room was well lit, more so than even the version lit beneath an evening sky. Mirrors, curved and formed of polished bowls were positioned about the room in tunnels it seemed; and with these mirrors light was reflected into the chamber, filling it with enough sunlight to spread across an entire village. He could hear... A voice Katsuya told himself, frowning. He could remember a voice in his mind, and from the shadows beside the boy seemed to come eyes, staring in curiosity. A set of golden cat's eyes shimmering from the corner... Gleaming orange metal, encasing similarly coloured glass ones, glaring out at the very edge of the darkness the mirrors could not reach. and, seemingly from solidified shadows a set of blazing red ones.

' _What happened here?_ ' the boy asked, the shadows seeming to answer despite them not facing each other.

_'Refuge_ ,' spoke the first, with a growling tone that stirred the depths of the waters in the well.

' _Sanctuary_ ,' whispered the other, his growls drifting across the sands like a breeze.

_'Flight,_ ' the final stated, ' _Hiding. This is where they were protected. This is where it happened...'That' happened,_ ' it clarified, deep rumbling seeming to shake the earth and the skies themselves. And the boy continued to stare at the carvings, a curious expression on his face.

' _But why?_ ' asked the boy, the shadows in the corner seeming to shift among themselves before the second one vanished from view.

_'There are many names for these reasons_ ,' whispered the first, seeming to shrink back into the darkness in some sort of fear filled reaction.

' _However we do not speak of them_ ,' the final muttered, the boy tilting his head in confusion.

_'...But why?_ ' he asked, the shadows merely answering with patience and calm as he reached a hand out to the walls.

' _Because to speak of them would mean their release_ ,' remarked the last shadow, the boy before them still staring at the stone. There was more silence in the air, before yet again that same word was uttered.

_'Why..?_ ' Chuckling came about the room, and Katsuya stepped forward as the conversations continued before him, only faintly finding them familiar to him.

' _Hnhnhnhnhn... You are a curious child_ ,' the shadow muttered, now alone with the absence of the first. _'But how is it that you speak with us? It has been many years_ ,' it continued curiously, ' _Since a true connection has been achieved._ ' A true connection he found himself wondering, narrowing his eyes. But what did that mean?

The draconic shadow continued to speak, thick hide seeming to melt out of the darkness to arise above the boy from the corners between the ceiling and wall.

' _Our ways have been lost to time,_ ' it explained, red eyes blinking down at the boy below. _'There were once days when we walked along the sides of men, accepted as their equals and companions. But these times are gone,_ ' he lamented, the boy before him staring. 'A _nd so we are cast to the shadows, if even that.'_

The answer was expected really, but even so it seemed too serious a question to pull a smile at. ' _But... Why?_ '

More chuckling, followed by a gloomy sigh as the creature closed his eyes and slipped down the wall. _'Ahhh... You are still but a young child I suppose,_ ' the shadow whispered, seeming to draw closer to the boy as he stared. ' _Come here young one,_ ' it continued, the boy doing just that as he curled up into the darkness with a childishly oblivious smile. ' _Rest your eyes... We will send you back to your village later_ ,' it went on, ' _When the storm above has passed..._ '

The boy continued to smile at this and in an instant he faded away to a cloud of dust, along with the light around him. The ceiling above remained of course, blocking out whatever time of the day it could have been. But there was no light, at least not much, falling into the room and it was because of this that he was placing a hand on the well at the side for support, squinting in the darkness. Now, from the other room, he could hear screams. The very ones from his dreams, the lamented cries and curses of men and women as they watched their children fall into a bottomless pit. He could see someone peering around the corner in front of him, body locked with horror before fleeing through a second exit to the side.

And then with a jolt the well, seemingly out of anger, collapsed on itself, forcing him to draw back with a shout...

And the light above is sealed, the hole where the well once travelled to blocked by a stone that no one else will ever find.

And the room was left in darkness yet again.

"...What happened here?" Katsuya whispered, gripping his staff as a doorway appeared just behind him in the form of an old and stone archway. "What happened..."

" _Tragedy, Merea. Tragedy_."

* * *

Unlike with other memories Kisara did not simply 'change channels' after finding that it was the 'wrong one' to Mokuba's surprise. Not to say he wasn't a little relieved of course, given the hell that constantly jumping memories seemed to be putting his sister- not to mention himself- through, but the fact was...

This was far from the one that he wanted to see, and if they could have 'switched' to anything else he was almost certain he would prefer it over this. Before them he could see himself and the form of his younger sister. Standing outside the gates beside them, and as he stared it felt almost as though they _were_ children again. As though their dad had died eight weeks rather than eight years ago, as though they were being abandoned by their aunt once again, with that final stony request only fulfilled with a grudging heart.

This was where it all began.

This was where the true problem struck, where the crossroads really appeared. And as smaller versions of themselves passed through them like ghosts, guided by the orphanage caretaker, they found themselves forced to follow. They found themselves taking small steps forward with Kisara right behind them, the strange and almost draconic girl warping reality simply with her thoughts it appeared. The scene shifted...

They were at the park he'd played in as a younger child, or at least he was. Seto wasn't there, and he could remember why that was as well. It had been the day they entered the orphanage. The day that their records brought up nothing, that they were deemed 'orphans' simply due to the lack of evidence otherwise. He'd run off after being shown the room he'd be staying in, afraid of what would happen, wanting to just go home back to his dad...

But dad wasn't there.

No matter how much he wanted to be playing with him, like the other boys and girls were playing with their parents, he wasn't there. He wasn't there and what was worse, he wasn't coming back, a fact that had left him miserably clinging to the chain on the swings as he forced himself not to cry.

_'Hey,_ ' a boy about his sister's age asked at one point that day, militaristic hair-cut standing out from the usual messy mops of the other boys. ' _You lost?_ '

He'd shaken his head and lied, saying that his sister would be coming for him soon. That he was just fine, even though there was no one else in sight. And though it looked like the boy was about to say something more, a loud ' _Hiroto! We're leaving!_ ' came through the air and summoned him away...

With the vision rendering him naught but dust in the wind.

And it began to get darker. The sun began to set, and eventually they were left with nothing but a red sky, bleeding across the horizon. No one else was left in the park, so no one was there to see him finally cry. He wasn't coming after all. He'd waited all day but in the end-

" _Mokuba_ ," a voice called out, the real one watching sadly as his sister, or the memory of her at least, ran forward with a momentarily worried and red face. He remembered...

Just how afraid he was that day, when they'd been left at the side of the road to walk to the building. How shocking it was when his sister's hair had been cut down, shaven into the typical style of most other boys that age, clipped to match their cousin's spare and old clothes. Even from a 'mop' that had been left after the 'bubblegum' issue it was frightening, something that still scared him now. "Mokuba," the girl repeated, running forward as he'd looked up from the swing set.

" _Mokuba, I was worried..._ "

" _Ah... Nee-_ " He'd quickly been cut off with those words, the girl frowning just slightly.

" _Hey- remember what we said_ ," she'd told him, giving the boy a somewhat warning look as he nodded slowly.

" _H-Hn... Right. ...N-Nii-sama... ...Am I in trouble?_ " he'd asked through his tears, receiving a sad smile in response before getting a hug.

" _Of course not... I was just worried about you,_ " she'd answered, helping her brother from the swings. " _You ran away... I didn't know where you'd gone, so I had to think of all the places you could be..._ "

Mokuba, the 'younger' version at least, had wiped his eyes, staring at the ground as the tears were quickly replaced. " _I'm sorry,_ " he cried, sniffing loudly as he held his sister's hand. " _I just... I thought if I went to the park_ ," he continued, " _That he'd come back! That I'd see daddy coming and... And... Ngggh..._ "

The smaller Seto stared, taking his hand. " _...Mokuba... I know... I know it hurts_ ," she began with a slight choke, " _But... Come on_ ," she'd said, turning to him sadly. " _Lets go home... Remember what I said? From now on, 'I'll be the father', okay?_ " she told him with a smile, eyes just barely betraying the emotion. " _I'll protect you, and make sure you live happy for the rest of your life, so don't worry about anything, and don't think about what happened! Alright?_ "

" _Ah... Ne- nii-sama... ...B-But... But nii-sama,_ " he'd cried, shaking his head. " _You can't be a 'dad', only boys are 'dads', and_ -"

" _And that's just what I'll be,_ " she interrupted plainly, still smiling sadly as she led the boy to the orphanage along the sidewalk. " _Alright? I'm your 'brother'... So stop crying... If they see you like this,_ " Seto had warned, " _If you show them weakness, they'll only try and hurt you more. So you have to be strong, okay?_ " the girl told him seriously, " _Be strong. We aren't 'dogs'- so no whining, alright?_ "

He'd hurriedly nodded in response to that, swallowing back his cries as he sniffed. " _A-Ah... R-Right,_ " he said with a swallow. " _Not a dog!_ "

" _Good... Now lets play a game, okay,_ " 'Seto' whispered, before vanishing into smoke along with the memory. " _I have just the thing..._ " A game...

Mokuba looked up at his sister as the scene whirled again, the woman's head bowed somewhat as she closed her eyes. Those words... Those words that she still lived by even today... That was 'nii-sama' for him he supposed, eyes softening in sadness before he looked back to hide his tears. That was his big sister...

Somethings, he supposed, just never changed.

* * *

" _Checkmate_ ," someone said as the memory stabilized itself, the two siblings looking back as they were met with the outside view of a classroom window. Birds were chirping in the trees at the side. A few remaining sakura petals were falling from the trees, but by this point a majority had been replaced by green leaves. Ah...

This was the elementary school by the orphanage she realized, face somewhat torn between emotions at the moment. Because they were so close to this building, because the school and the orphanage were on the same grounds, they would often play games there. This time she noted, it was chess.

Something they'd done almost every day. " _Wuaaaah_ ," the younger Mokuba cried before them, face wide and grinning as he laughed. " _You beat me again! Nii-sama,_ " he shouted, no longer slipping over the honorifics, " _You're so good!_ " Two years...

It'd been two years since the last memory Seto told herself, staring at the tired version of herself through the window. Two years of hiding behind a curtain and praying she wasn't caught. And even now she felt dizzy... That the lines of reality were blurring more and more before her eyes right now, that the exhaustion she'd hidden so well back then was resurfacing.

_'You don't deserve this,_ ' a nasty, hissing voice whispered in her ear, coating her thoughts in despair as she stared through the window. ' _This adoration... You aren't worthy of it at all..._ '

Seto immediately shook herself of the thought, still staring through the window in silence. She couldn't think that, could she? True, she didn't deserve it but...

With the sounds of that voice, it was almost asking her to 'disappear'. That couldn't be the answer...

Instead she thought back to those times, those happier times she could recall only faintly. In that classroom... They'd play so often, whenever Mokuba felt bored really. And no matter what she would put on a smile for him, and tell him that everything was alright, so that he didn't realize anything was wrong. But that day as the TV flashed behind them, she wasn't smiling. She'd dropped her facade, not focusing on it as she looked to the screen. On the TV Gozaburo Kaiba was giving an announcement. He was being awarded a large sum of money for his participation in a renowned, World Wide chess tournament. And in just one week...

He was coming to their orphanage with as many gifts as were worth this money for the children there. Coming, in person, leaving enough time to possibly speak to him...

This was her chance.

This was her one chance, her opportunity to change everything, or so she had told herself then and there. Gozaburo Kaiba had one of the most powerful companies in Japan, a billionaire in his own right, unchallenged in power. With that her promise could be fulfilled. No one would hurt her brother. Nothing would stand in their way to make that amusement park for kids like them. For kids like the two she'd met at that cemetery, for the kids that lived with them. They'd play as much as they wanted...

No problems at all...

"That's right," she found herself muttering under her breath, cloak blowing in a slight breeze as her gaze faded with her thoughts. "I started my plan here..." And she never looked back. Never...

And with those thoughts they could hear the sounds of a car pulling up, the scenery again changing so that they were turned in the opposite direction. The familiar black rolls royce car arrived...

The staff of the Orphanage, or at least the head, was waiting by the gates, holding them open with a nervous and white palor. And then he appeared, visible for the first time since he'd jumped out that window. Standing there, identical in every detail to the man she'd known from that time.

"It's him," Mokuba said with a quiet swallow, watching the man crush his dying cigar before coming forward to greet the Orphanage owner. Yes...

"Kaiba Gozaburo..."

The smaller version of herself was watching as expected. Staring out the classroom door with an odd look on her face. " _Mokuba,_ " she'd whispered, looking down at her brother as they watched the man vanish to another room. " _Remember my promise?_ " she'd asked. " _What I'm about to do now will make sure it happens. That man is Kaiba Gozaburo,_ " she'd explained to the boy, " _And he's the owner of Kaiba Corporation... If we get adopted by him,_ " the girl told him, swallowing back her unease as she enacted the plan she'd prepared long ago, " _If this works... We won't have to worry about a thing.._."

Mokuba had looked up curiously, still too young to really understand what he had heard. " _Adopted?_ " he asked, his sister nodding as she stared down the walkway.

" _That's right; and even if I have to force him,_ " she'd muttered darkly, " _I'll make sure this happens!_ " Even if she had to cheat. Even if she had to do something drastic...

Time passed once again.

As Gozaburo returned from his publicity stunt he was stopped by the two small children, the younger hiding behind her as she looked up. " _Can I help you boys?_ " he'd asked, looking down at them oddly. And she had immediately, without bowing, looked the man in the eye, holding the stare. With all the gall in the world she'd held that gaze, and made one single request to the man.

" _Please,_ " she insisted, watching as the man raised his eyebrows in slight confusion. " _Adopt us!_ "

Gozaburo's reaction was expected really. " _Adopt you?"_ he'd repeated, narrowing his eyes. That was all he said, and yet the second message was obvious. 'you're kidding'... 'you can't be serious'...

She was.

Most definitely, she was. " _That's right... We ask that you take my brother and myself in as your sons. Of course_ ," she'd added, the present day counterparts both watching with frowns as the past unfolded before them, " _If you don't wish to do so... We could always have a match of chess on the decision; if I were to win_ ," she continued in explanation, " _You would have no choice but to take us in! And if I lost, then nothing would happen_ ," the girl finished almost plainly, " _And we would stay here_."

She would always remember, always, what that man had said in response.

" _Hnhnhnhnhn... What an interesting boy you have here,_ " he'd told the man behind him, the caretaker currently wiping his brow in unease as he narrowly escaped an awkward position that could have otherwise unfolded. " _Interesting... But foolish,_ " he continued, a frown still sitting on his face. " _Boy, I've won six worldchampionship titles in the game of Chess; to challenge me is to challenge God himself! Impossible!_ "

" _But there are no impossibilities when it comes to competition,_ " she'd answered, using one of the man's own quotes in response as she narrowed her eyes. " _Are there?_ "

At this the man hid a slight smirk, narrowing his eyes in thought. " _Hn! In luck and chance perhaps,_ " he eventually told her, arms held loosely at his sides. " _But Chess is not luck... Yet you still challenge me?_ "

Why hadn't she relented? She was too stubborn really, that was part of it. But perhaps if she had simply been called on her cheat, or even just pulled out of her ruse those years ago, none of this would have happened. None of this...

But it was impossible to change the past.

" _Of course,_ " she had responded. Of course...

It had all been for Mokuba after all, it had always been for Mokuba. " _Well... It's clear from the look in your eyes that you don't plan on backing down anytime soon,_ " Gozaburo had decided, nodding his head. " _Very well! I'll fight you- and if you win_ ," he continued, " _I'll uphold this agreement of yours. But I won't be holding back_ ," the man warned, the younger version of herself nodding in response.

" _I'd expect nothing less_." She'd planned only for that after all. And at that age she'd never realized just how obvious she had been.

" _Good! Now... If we could borrow one of your classrooms,_ " he'd asked the man behind him, the trio quickly being led off to the classroom at the side. The door was closed behind them, and sitting at one of the desks, the game was set up... And the game began, as the scene before them changed in a whirl of smoke.

"Nee-sama," Mokuba whispered from outside the classroom, the room having shifted to that scene already as pawns and knights flew across the board. "That day... You'd already known what you were going to do, didn't you," he asked quietly.

"Of course she did." The two turned, frowning as Kisara stared blankly toward them with those words. All these memories...

She'd almost forgotten the girl was there, watching their every move and gauging their reaction.

"Seto-sama studied all of Gozaburo-sama's movements, all of his strategies," she explained, "Until, before the match, she had formulated a plan for each and every move he could make. It was the ultimate 'cheat'," the girl continued blandly, "And it was such intelligence that earned your place in the Kaiba mansion." This girl...

Tch!

Inside the room, the game had passed its half-way point, with the occasional idle comment on the quality of the board, or the intelligence of the move arising during the time coming to that moment. But as the game progressed further Gozaburo began to fall silent. He narrowed his eyes, even pausing at some of his moves before staring at the board with both incredulity and shock...

And possibly even awe.

"Gozaburo-sama knew that you cheated," Kisara said plainly, repeating the fact that had remained unsaid for so long. "And yet, he took you in... Why is this, I wonder?" she continued, both Seto and Mokuba staring with narrowed eyes as they turned from the window. "Why would such a man take in one whom he knew had attempted to fool him? This is where it all began," she continued, holding out her hands as she looked to the two. "This is the path that leads to 'that memory'. It is an important one," the girl told them, the siblings gritting their teeth in annoyance. "One I must find, for that is Noa-sama's wish. It is his wish that you see this memory," she pressed, "That you remember, before it is too late."

Too late? What... "What the hell are you talking about?" she muttered, staring at the girl. "What on earth..."

"There is a time," she told them in her same flat tone, eyes appearing almost shadowed. "A time you have forgotten. And even if I must repeat every occurrence within your mind," she told them, "I will find it." Every... Single... What...

What!

And with that another door appeared, a field of darkness replacing most of the scenery in a blast of wind that knocked any clear words from her mouth. Arms were brought up as a shield, eyes covered by the hat she wore, until finally the gale died down for a small light to appear in the corner. "This..."

As the door opened the girl gestured to the side, blank face still staring toward them with half-lidded eyes. "Welcome home..." It was the mansion...

From over seven years ago.

* * *

The door behind him, made simply from a hanging cloth that was nailed and forced into a stone archway, appeared about as oddly placed as anything else he'd seen that apparently resided in his mind and subconscious thoughts. Whatever was beyond the cloth was clearly different from what was around them it seemed, as the other side of the arch was unchanged and made of empty space. All the same...

Something told him this was the 'meal ticket' that Noa had mentioned, and that if he didn't take it, he wouldn't be finding a way out anytime soon. " _So you're going in then?_ " the spirit in his mind asked, Katsuya nodding in response.

"Not like there's anything else to do..." There was no answer in that regard to that comment, the blond moving forward and beyond the cloth curtain as he pushed it back with his free hand. In an instant, the change was apparent, even as his eyes closed over. The sanded ground was replaced with soft plush carpet... The beating sun swapped out for chandelier lighting, with stairways and lusciously painted walls taking the place of the stone. Dust and grime seemed to clean itself off his skin in an instant, and the clothing that had grown stiff with dirt now floated as the waving robes were meant to do.

Despite this change however, it was not the numerous 'what's that surprised him. Rather it was the 'where', something that caused the blond to freeze in place and look around the room with wide eyes.

" _You've been here before then?_ " his partner asked with evident surprise, Katsuya nodding in response.

"Hah! Try 'live'... Th's 's Seto-chan's house," he muttered with a swallow, the ghost appearing to pause with the words.

" _Seto... Chan?_ " he asked somewhat blankly, Katsuya rolling his eyes.

"Oh c'mon, it ain't like y' knew her b'fore t' know abou' any name d'f'rences... 'Nless there's somethin' y' wanna tell me," he added dryly, glaring at midair as the ghost again paused.

" _Yes... Of course not... Still,_ " the spirit muttered, " _From your interactions with others, I'd have thought... Hnn..._ " The ghost appeared to trail off in his mutterings, Katsuya rubbing his head as he wandered the halls. Secretive ghosts aside...

Time to figure out where the hell he was in this whole 'memory/computer' scheme. "Damn this is some weird shit," he muttered, shaking his head as he passed a painting of the year's hanami trip. Way too damn weird.

" _Ohhh... I don't know about that_ ," his 'friend drawled. " _It's probably not as weird as everything else you've experienced..._ " Everything else?

"An' jus' how would you know?" the blond asked somewhat accusingly, again turning to thin air on impulse. "You told me y' couldn' see my memories," he continued, "Jus' th' top thoughts."

" _True,_ " the spirit answered, " _But if this was beyond your comprehension,_ " he continued with a chuckle, " _You'd likely be holding a conversation with that suit of armor, wouldn't you._ " Suit-

Katsuya jumped as his attention was drawn to the suit in question, the blond nearly crashing back into the massive set of red coloured armor in his panic. "N-NHYYY! Tha- That wasn' there b'fore!" And neither was that blue one...

Or the green one for that matter!

Damn it!

Dull laughter continued in the back of his mind as he continued to panic, the blond swallowing as he stepped away from the red and silver suit. "S-Sheesh... Don' creep me out like tha'," he growled to his partner, "'m havin' a weird 'nough day as it is... Lost in my own head..."

"Perhaps then, I could assist you." Ah what?

The blond turned toward the source of these words, eyes widening as they met with a small boy in white. The boy looked almost familiar in fact, despite his obvious young age. A mop of silvery white hair, along with grey eyes that seemed to come from his memories... However the rest seemed all too out of place he realized quickly. The skin was as pale as his clothing, and sprouting from his waist and back were four brilliant and feathered white wings that matched in complexion. Even odder however were the odd metal protrusions in the place of his ears, a small bit of the devices covering over his forehead to point a horn forward in the shape of some sort of bizarre helmet.

It was as though he'd been mashed together with some sort of monster, incomplete in design and juvenile in appearance. As though something was missing...

Yet he couldn't help but think he knew this boy. "Y-You... Who are..."

"I am 'SERAPH'," the boy stated plainly, bowing his head politely before staring forward with dull and faded eyes. "I am a program created by Noa-sama," he continued, "Formed from your thoughts with the intent of leading you throughout your fragmented memories." Woah...

This thing came from his head? And more on that topic, his memories were... "Fragmented?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. Just how the hell were they-

His thoughts were cut short by a snort in the back of his mind, the spirit evidently finding something inaccurate about the situation. " _'Seraph'_!" he burst out in surprise, looking over the thoughts the blond had on the boy. " _...Oh PLEASE_ ," the ghost muttered as he rolled his eyes, " _He looks nothing like-_ "

"What w's that?" he asked somewhat innocently, the ghost tensing. He knew something?

The ghost immediately choked, shaking himself off and choosing to save his rant for another time. " _Nothing,_ " he muttered, voice quieting. " _Nothing at all._ " Yeah...

That was bullshit and he knew it. But besides that it was probably better to pay attention to the 'program', given that the 'ghost' was probably going to be there for a while. This kid... "Seraph righ'?" he asked, the boy staring blankly in response as his charge continued. "Y' said my memories were... Fragmented?" he said again, adjusting the staff in his hands.

The boy nodded, before turning to gesture down the hall as he moved. "Correct; if you could follow me," he told him, Katsuya shrugging as he did just that. "I will explain... As I stated moments before," the boy began, "Your memories are fragmented. Though most are straightforward, fitting perfectly into the life that you live now," he continued seriously, "Many appear to be from a time not accessible to yourself. They depict things that reach beyond the laws of physics, and beyond my own understanding. More over," Seraph continued, looking back at the blond with his default blank-eyed gaze, "They are divided into fragments, locked in the depths of your subconscious." Locked in his-

Hold on... So these weren't visions, they were _memories_? (Or the past ones at least..?)

Katsuya stared, frowning somewhat as he stopped half way through the hall. Thinking about it now, he supposed it made sense; why the heck would he see visions of the 'past' right? Useless. But if they were memories... "If they're locked away... Then how c'n you get t' them?" he asked, frowning as the boy turned.

"I cannot access what is locked away," Seraph answered, blinking slowly before continuing on down the hall. "I can only know that they are there, and that they are inaccessible. As I said," he continued, wings seemingly casting light against the shadows of the hall, "Your memories are fragmented... There, but not there. It is all very strange," the boy told him, "And it is for that reason I was sent to guide you." Eh?

This kid was to keep him from losing himself! "O... Oh..." He blinked, rubbing his head as he looked around the halls they were walking down. Creepy...

Though looking around, he supposed he could see why. Portraits were hanging on the wall he noted, despite the real counterpart normally being bare. They seemed to flicker as he passed, shifting in imagery from 'memory' to 'memory' regardless of whether or not he considered it his. Christmas dinner... Summer with Shizuka and Mokuba...

Someone striking a crocodile down with fire as a small boy screamed, claws tearing the side of the boy's face... And someone commenting on...

Well, 'something' he was wearing. A 'hat' it seemed. And following this, conversations of scars...

_'Yeeeeep_ ,' he heard himself muttering, the image of himself dabbing the side of a boy's cheek with brine water coming to mind. ' _That'll probably end up as one_ ,' he muttered, the boy holding back a wince in the sting of the salt water to frown.

' _What? A scar on my face!?_ ' he shouted, before crossing his arms. ' _Maaaaan..._ ' At this he could hear himself snorting, ruffling the boy's hair.

_'Hey hey now, don't be too upset... It looks cool_ ,' he shouted with a grin, laughing loudly. ' _And if anyone asks where you got it, you can say 'I got in a sword fight',_ ' he continued, receiving a groan in response.

_'But I got this from a rock running from that crocodile_ ,' the boy muttered sheepishly, the memory of his 'other' self merely grinning. ' _It wasn't even something cool, like the crocodile!_ '

_'Well. They don't know that, now do they?_ '

Just where were these conversations coming from he asked himself as the voices ended, the group turning into another hall. These memories in his head, where were they from..? And this Noa guy...

There were so many similarities to the one he'd heard about in December, but that just couldn't be right! "...Jus' who is Noa?" he asked his guide, Seraph turning with blank eyes as they turned down another hall.

"You know who Noa-sama is," he said plainly, Katsuya frowning in the resulting confusion. He supposed so, but...

That just raised more questions on the matter entirely! "So I know who he is... He's tha' kid Hobson told me abou' then," he continued, "But that doesn' explain how he's here."

Seraph briefly paused, turning to look up at the blond with blank eyes. "Ah- Of course; I understand," he told him. "I will explain; Noa-sama resides within this realm as a program," he began, Katsuya's eyes widening with the words.

"A... A program?" he repeated, the boy nodding in response.

"That's right," Seraph told him. "Noa-sama has been coded into this device for almost nine years now," he went on, eyes showing no emotion in regards to what he said. "He has been unable to die since the day of his accident."

* * *

The Kaiba Mansion looked almost identical in appearance to what it looked like from the real life counterpart, even after the six years that had passed. There had been very few changes since Gozaburo's death after all; the paint still gleamed regally, and the carpet was still plush and vacuumed, with marble flooring creating an echo beneath their feet.

Things like this held no specific memories of the man; so why bother changing them? The company had been what represented that man, that company and all that she had sought to destroy. By this point there was only one thing remaining of that...

The mansion was not it.

But the mansion they stood in now was not the mansion of their time either, and as they moved, it seemed that the house itself did the travelling for them. Without moving an inch the halls passed by them... And in just moments they realized what was happening.

"This... It's the day we were adopted," Mokuba whispered, watching as from across them a slightly younger Hobson led the two children down to their rooms.

_'You will live on a tight schedule,_ ' she'd been told, Mokuba having been given a room on the right wing while she received one surrounded by class rooms on the right wing. ' _There is much you need to learn after all. You will take an assessment class and test in one hour as well_ ,' he'd continued seriously, 'S _o be warned_.' Assessment... Hah! As if it could be called that! As if being grilled for all the knowledge of her current classes and then some could be considered 'assessment'! The only reason she did so well in her English that day, earning the right to an 'advanced' teacher beyond most of Gozaburo's control was because of her father...

With everything else it had simply been ' _we have much to work on_ ', and endless hours of studying! The room shifted in response to the thoughts, taking them to the small section of a library where she'd spent so much of those years in life. By this point she could tell it had already been a number of hours since her 'assessment' of that time; she was nodding off as the teacher explained what sorts of things to expect from her next classes for physics, head snapping back each time she caught herself from sleeping in the midst of a class meant for those at least four years older. And then...

_-SNAP!_

A great, stunning crack came through the air, a switch having landed on the table to jerk her from her approaching slumber. The 'small' Seto looked up with shock, staring at the 'assistant teacher' Gozaburo had hired into the room with wide eyes as the man sneered.

_'Listen closely,_ ' he warned, lips curled back with distaste. ' _You were adopted to surpass Gozaburo, so that you can successfully further this company. And until then_ ,' he went on, ' _There will be no sleep, not unless you plan on leaving here with your brother..._ '

That threat had been all that was needed to put fear in her eyes, and with a stiff nod she'd given her answer. ' _I understand,_ ' she'd responded fearfully, hands clenching her knees as she stared at the switch. _'It won't happen again..._ '

_'It better not... Unless you want the next snap of the switch to be on your back..._ ' The teacher in front of them had seemed to stare at them oddly through this exchange. And in the coming days, when the switch did indeed connect, it seemed none of those staring teachers would open their mouths, plenty of money lining their pockets to keep them silent. Her only escape had been that English class...

Where they had felt no need to worry about her skills. Where there was no 'assistant', no ragged and break-neck schedule planned out by her new father, no watchful eyes to send her into a paranoid fit looking over her shoulder, wincing with the expectation of the next strike. She hadn't realized she was in the 'right' back then though. She'd had a suspicion, but she'd never realized...

That she could have actually fought back even then, rather than waiting those few years.

"This is the wrong one," came a flat tone, pulling Seto from her thoughts abruptly.

"N-Nn!" The scenery shifted again, smoking from existence. Dinner, first night, she realized immediately, the elaborate and over-the-top banquet of food that would forever be their dinner so long as the man lived meeting their eyes.

" _So Seto,_ " her 'father' had asked, sitting at the far opposite end of the table as the children turned from their end. " _Tell me... What are your plans for Kaiba Corporation?_ " Hn!

Even now she couldn't help but snort, despite the fact that she had held a completely different reaction that day. That kind of question was obvious after all...

There was only one possible answer in the end. " _Ah..._ " But even though she'd known the answer, it had still caught her off guard as she ate. ". _..I plan on building amusement parks,_ " she'd eventually said, Gozaburo visibly tensing at the words.

" _...Amusement parks?_ " he'd repeated, narrowing his eyes. It was almost as though he'd truly expected her to say something else really... Almost as though for him he'd had the conversation already, and that he had only just realized it was someone else he was speaking to.

She'd chalked it up to expectations back then.

But something seemed off. Something seemed dangerously off about the look that she'd missed in his eyes... " _That's right,_ " Mokuba, the false one, was saying now, his voice merely hovering in the background as she observed the man before her. " _Nii-sama hopes to build theme parks all over the world, a place where orphans like what we used to be can go to play for free,_ " he cheerfully announced, fully expecting their new father to share their beliefs.

Gozaburo had stared at them in silence, as though expecting them to say 'just kidding' within any moment. But there was nothing else for them to say...

So in the end he'd snorted, and returned to his meal. Returned with apparent hopes to cast the topic aside and force it out later on. " _Hn! How boring_ ," he'd muttered, both children staring incredulously at what had been their dream for so long.

" _Boring..? Games aren't boring_!" she'd shouted, narrowing her eyes as she stood from her seat. Her fists had smacked against the table to send a slight shudder through the furniture as their 'father' paused once more. " _Games bring people together, purifying the soul! They allow people to think clearly,_ " she continued with an argumentative roar, " _To take a break from the stresses of the world... How can you say something so important is boring?_ " she continued, eyes widening as her 'father' stared.

" _How? Hn! The world doesn't turn for games and amusement parks_ ," the man growled in response, placing his silverware down as he turned on the girl with grit teeth. " _The reason I adopted you was so that you could further this company, not scrap it down for 'toys' the moment I hit the grave! Hobson,_ " he shouted, the old man bowing from the side at that moment before stepping forward. " _Confiscate any and all playthings you find in Seto's room and luggage,_ " he'd ordered, the Seto of that time left watching with a shocked and confused frown. " _And until you realize the meaning of this company,_ " he warned the girl, " _You won't be seeing those again..._ "

She never did get those things back. And as the scene shifted once again, the girl having been taken to her room to help find all of these things, Seto found herself narrowing her eyes.

" _How incredible_ ," she could remember Hobson muttering, arms laden with the numerous things he'd found stowed away in her one bag. " _After taking all of these, there's barely any clothing at all... We'll have to take you in for some new clothes_ ," he'd told her, the girl merely sitting stubbornly and silently at the side. " _So that you can be prepared for whatever events Gozaburo-sama has in store. ...Your next class begins shortly,_ " he'd continued, giving a warning bow before leaving the room. " _Prepare yourself..._ "

Her response was merely to sit on the edge of the bed as she had been, staring at the wall with narrowed eyes. And at this point, the scene moved to a completely different location yet again, only one that she couldn't recall.

At least not for a moment. "Nh- this..."

Seto blinked, looking up from the balcony they stood on to stare at the far right wing. Over there was her window, where Jonouchi had peered in on her long before... And that meant...

"This... My balcony," Mokuba said with a swallow, turning back to watch as his own young counterpart stared longingly toward his sister's room. The younger form was considerably shorter than her brother, if that was even possible. And despite the young age it seemed as though he understood just what was happening, and just what their 'father' was doing. "...I remember this," he whispered, eyes growing distant and misty as he spoke. "I'd wanted to help so..."

So he'd taken a knife from the kitchens she realized, the images flashing through her head from the likely interference of either Noa or their guide. He'd cut out the pages of one of the library's books, some old 'Ancient History' novel ironically, and slipped in his entire deck of cards before pulling the book shut using another book cover. And after that...

" _Hobson_ ," he'd called out, meeting with the man in the hall. The old man had looked down, staring at the small boy with an odd expression as he returned from where he'd locked the toys away, expression more or less neutral as he bowed his head.

" _Hn..? Is something wrong then, Mokuba-sama?_ "

The boy shook his head, swallowing nervously. " _Ah... No... It's just... It's just that nii-sama forgot this book,_ " he'd told him, holding it out as Hobson looked it over. " _I was wondering if you could give it back to him._ " The relief he must have felt when the man nodded and walked away...

When rather than opening it, he'd simply held it closed...

The scene shifted to one she was more familiar with, Seto staring almost blankly at her collapsed, couch-ridden form. At the exhausted form she held, even with a few hours left before what would become her standard 'bed time'. The book was dropped in front of her face... And as she looked to it in disdain, she found herself only dully listening to the butler's words at that time.

" _Seto-sama,_ " Hobson warned softly, placing a hand on her shoulder in a calming gesture. " _Classes begin in an hour; try not to sleep too long,_ " he'd continued, the girl nodding stiffly in response.

" _I understand,_ " she'd told him with her usual, stubbornly masked tone, waiting for the man to leave. " _I won't be late._ " And as soon as he was out of sight, as soon as she looked over the cover of the book that was it.

She'd had enough...

Her face had twisted from her indifferent mask into that of a demonic rage and she'd turned on the device with all the anger that had built up throughout the day. " _AHHHHHRRRGH!_ "

The book was tossed to the side of the room, even leaving a small and pinprick dent in the wall to the side. But when something fell from its covers she'd paused, picking it up off the ground and opening it with surprise as she ignored a papercut the crudely shaped hole within left her with.

" _Eh... This..._ " There'd been a letter in there. A crudely written letter that spoke of writing through memory rather than proper structure. 'Nee-sama,' Mokuba had written, 'I know things are hard, but we'll pull through right? I'll try to visit in class,' he continued cheerfully, 'But until then, use these to relax, okay? I love you... - Mokuba ' All hiragana, nothing else...

Mokuba was still learning how to write let alone know any kanji after all, so it was only expected.

Flipping through the cards she could remember laughing, shaking her head at the images that met her eyes. 'Kid cards', she'd told herself. Weak ones, the only kind that weren't snatched away from the 'toy pile' at the orphanage really. And at the end...

Her smirk had fallen for the emotion of slight shock, eyes widening in surprise as she picked up a crudely cut piece of paper. " _Ah..._ "

Drawn in crayon it sat before her, hiragana characters sitting at the top to name what would be written in katakana. A great big, blue-white dragon with a ridiculously large blue eye, blasting out a torrent of equally blinding flames in a scribble. 'Buru-Aisu Howaito Doragon'. Hahaha...

'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'... He'd made her a blue eyes...

He'd made...

" _...Just wait,_ " she'd promised herself, holding the cards close and replacing the deck and book on a shelf in the room, " _Someday, I'll get the real dragon... I promise... No matter what..._ " She'd promised...

"And you 'always' keep your promises, don't you?" Noa asked, a smirk on his face as the others turned toward his form.

"Gh- You," the woman snarled, quickly finding herself cut off by the expression on the boy's face. The boy smirked, taking a step behind the program he'd created as he brushed a hand across the back of her head.

"I see that Kisara has been working hard," he chuckled, watching as the other two glowered. The boy almost seemed to interact with the child as a parent would a favoured daughter, an image flawed only by his height. And as he brushed the girl's head he shook his own, smirk still in place as his eyes closed over somewhat. "So many memories," he muttered, the words triggering a response from the program.

"This one wasn't it," the girl responded, continuing to stare ahead despite the slight worry laced in her tone. Noa merely continued to smirk, evidently perfectly fine with this fact.

"Oh... Don't worry," he assured the girl, moving back from her to look toward the others. "I'm sure we'll find it eventually," he stated, the voice almost taking a threatening turn as a result. Gh...

This bastard... "What the hell do you want?" Seto spat, eyes wide with rage as she stared the boy down. "Showing us all of this... What is it inside my head that's so important to you?" she roared, drawing her sword but nonetheless standing in place. "What do you WANT from us!"

The boy snapped his fingers, taking them to an office hallway within a wave of dust as he shrugged. "Important to me?" he asked, feigning surprise on his face. "Absolutely nothing. But to you," he whispered almost threateningly, "Everything. There's something important you need to know," he warned, raising his voice as he drifted back with an almost insane gleam in his eyes. "Something you've forgotten... As to what that is," the boy finished, vanishing from sight completely as Seto grit her teeth. "...Allow me to refresh your memory," he whispered, briefly appearing behind the woman as he whispered in her ear.

"Gh- Noa..!" The woman turned instantly as she was met with thin air, eyes widening with rage. "NOAAAAA! Get back here!" she screamed, clutching her blade in her hand as she looked about the hall. "If you want to tell us something then TELL US OUT RIGHT! Stop forcing us to fish through our own minds!"

Their only answer was a series of chuckles though, and with that, the woman turned away with a thick scowl.

Before them, another door had appeared. Kisara stood at the side of it, waiting expectantly as the others stared, waiting for the rage to pass and the silence to be broken. This door...

"Tch... Mokuba," she told her brother, reeling in her anger as the boy stared. This wasn't the time... They needed to get out, and for now, that meant listening to the bastard that had them cornered. "No matter what," she continued, "We can only move forward understand? There is no looking back, no matter what lies beyond this door..."

A short silence was her answer, before the boy nodded determinedly. "Right," he said quickly, his sister reaching for the door handle. "...Let's go, nee-sama."

The door was opened. For a moment blinding light filled the air, both of the siblings shielding their eyes in the glare. A wind blasted past, disintegrating the door and bringing them within whatever room lay beyond. Within seconds however it had cleared, with both staring in slight shock yet again as the memory beyond the door was revealed.

"This..." Mokuba's eyes widened as he stepped forward, staring in shock. "This is..."

"CEO's office of KaibaCorp..."

But it wasn't the same she realized quickly enough, staring toward the chair that faced them back first. For one, the chair was completely different... For another the computer was gone, papers littered the desk almost haphazardly rather than sitting stacked beside a bamboo plant.

But more importantly, as a shadow was cast across the floor...

" _Can I help you?_ " the man had asked, Seto taking in a sharp intake of breath at the sound of her 'father's voice.

Just ahead of her 'she' appeared, the form she'd held at a mere fourteen, ghosting through the real life counterparts with a scowl across her face. " _It's about the Virtual System I developed_ ," she'd said stonily, eyes wide with evident anger. Vocal lessons...

The vocal lessons had just completed she realized, her past voice sounding just slightly higher than the cover she used now, combined with the high-collared jacket she'd used for fear her lack of an adams apple would be discovered. But if she was right...

Then that meant she knew what this day was.

" _There's nothing to talk about Seto_ ," Gozaburo told her plainly, turning on the chair as he gripped a number of papers tightly in his hands. " _We've talked about this before,_ " he continued, " _Now leave the room before I have you sent out_." But she didn't leave the room.

Instead she held her ground, an icy glare forming in a close predecessor to the one she so knew now, fists clenched in determination that was so typical of most her age. " _No; you know why I created that program,_ " she'd roared, shaking on the spot. "' _Virtual Reality' is meant for entertainment, not weapons systems! And yet you want me to hand it over so you can test some kind of... 'Satellite'?_ " she pressed incredulously, " _Something that could potentially set the entire world against itself?_ "

Gozaburo needless to say had had enough of his 'son's arguing. And as the man stood from his chair to push a button on the phone at the side, Seto felt herself wince despite the knowledge that it wasn't there. Despite the knowledge that all of this had already happened long ago and frankly, that if she wanted she could punt the fool through a window had this even begun to happen again. She still winced; the scars on her back didn't want others after all, and the memories of fear and paranoia were more difficult to cut off completely than she'd thought.

" _I asked you to leave_ ," the man was warning, eyes narrowed as his voice hovered over the air. " _Did you not hear me properly? We have discussed this- I will be taking the program you developed for your 'test',_ " he explained with a finite tone, " _And I will use it to further the company that you will soon take over, do you understand?_ "

" _Do YOU?_ " Maybe it was the shock that allowed her to continue as she did, shouting with as much gall as she had. She'd never shouted at Gozaburo like this.

Never.

True, she had clearly shown her anger and hate for the classes, but for some reason the back of her mind had told her to just bear with. But now she didn't care. He'd taken everything by this point after all. Her voice, her name, her identity altogether...

Yet he'd never even once threatened to make Mokuba leave, even at her worst moments. What worse could he do? What more could he have possibly done? " _This isn't meant for war!_ " she'd snarled with that in mind, reassuring herself that Mokuba would be safe. " _It's meant for games! For children and their families to calm down after a long day of work and spend time with each other, you can't just twist it for you own ide- Gnggh!_ "

Papers scattered across the air as Seto closed her eyes, her younger self ducking under the sheafs tossed her way. " _Don't make me LAUGH!_ " her 'father' had spat, throwing the papers across the room and in her face. " _Your foolish dreams of amusement parks and video games mean nothing to the world Seto! MEN don't sit around playing with cards all day, and neither does any SON of mine! Now you listen,_ " the man growled, look almost demonic from where he stood before both her younger self and her present one, " _As my son you are going to take over this company in my absence... A company devoted to dominating the world through military trade, something YOUR program can help attain. Not just in weapon systems either; defense systems, observation... You WILL give me that program Seto, if you expect to succeed in anything!_ "

No...

That was the last straw.

The final load she refused to bear. No... No...

" _NO! You're wrong Tousan... Wrong!_ " she'd growled, shouting her rage and venting all that had built up over the years. " _This is just twisted, sick, and- Gh- HEY!_ "

At that moment Gozaburo's two security suits had come in, grabbing her by the arms as she pulled roughly from their grip.

" _G- Let me go!_ "

" _I said 'Get out'_ ," the man said plainly, taking a seat as he gestured to the door. " _You wouldn't listen; so, I'm doing it for you,_ " he continued, bowing his head. " _Take him away; tell Hobson to send him to his room and brief him on his return to class. We'll speak when I get home,_ " Gozaburo added, sending his 'son' a dangerous look as the girl continued to struggle.

" _Wh- Let go!_ " she snarled, tugging at the arms as she was pulled back and toward the door. She could remember her thoughts. Her shock at all of this, the surprise that her 'father' would go so far as to remove her from the room to force his way. She should have expected it all, and yet all she had been able to see in the back of her mind was the man that pulled her out of 'Kuma's strike, the one who had given her those days in the summer off at that business 'party', the man who...

The man who was a monster, and a master of manipulation, one that she had seen the true colours of from that point on. " _Tou-san!_ " she screamed, " _TOU-SAN! Please, just listen to me! You can't do this!_ " she roared with wide eyes, " _You can't..! Tou-san... TOU-SAN!_ "

The sound of slamming doors filled the air and as Seto opened her eyes to the empty black space before them she could see Mokuba looking up at her almost miserably. "...That was the last time I called him by that name," she said quietly, staring at the ground despite her face seemingly looking ahead. "While he never took all of the program data," the woman continued bitterly, "He was still able to attain enough to jump further ahead than he already was. He cut his ties to his partners," she whispered, "Having no more use for them... And behind him he left a bloodied trail on both sides of the battle field..."

So she'd made a plan a voice whispered in the back of her mind, a breeze passing as they were left in thick darkness with Kisara once more. So she'd decided that before everything went to hell, she would take matters into her own hands...

And in her obsession to succeed over the man, and in her obsession to win no matter what, her obsession that was created with the realization in regards to Gozaburo's final, erroneous message...

Everything was lost. Everything...

_Everything_!

"This is still the wrong memory," came Kisara's usual words, the woman no longer caring about what the girl said. Bring what memory came next, bring the screams and the blood she'd spilt, she would take it all. She didn't care any more...

At the side however Mokuba seemed to fix the girl with a gaze of fire, his hands gripping the wakizashi at his sides as his sister stood limp.

"Perhaps another one... December 5th, 2010, 12:41PM," Kisara began, Seto's blood draining from her face as Gozaburo's mad and dying cackle met the air. That date...

The woman forced herself to stand still, pushing the memories to the back of her mind as her thoughts from mere moments prior were proven wrong.

"Or May 7th of 2011," she continued, Seto's eyes widening further as her sword fell to the ground. "...December of the same year... January of the next... Or maybe-"

"That's ENOUGH!" Mokuba roared, both blades held tightly in his grip as his sister lost herself in the screams around them. "You... I spent so many years, dreaming, wishing to see my sister smile again... To see her make friends with someone who 'knew'!" the boy cried, charging the girl before him as tears ran down the sides of his face. "I won't let you do this any more!" he screamed, charging the girl as Seto snapped herself from stupor. "I won't let you keep us here!"

"Nngh!"

"MOKUBA!" she screamed, realizing what the boy was doing. "N- DON'T!"

For the first time since they'd met, they saw emotion on Kisara's face. A flash of fear, with wide and horrified eyes as Mokuba's blade struck her at an angle and cut her cleanly in two. For a moment she seemed to hover in place, a thin line dividing the two halves as Mokuba took shuddering and ragged breaths...

And then without warning the girl burst into a collection of white pixeled light, vanishing in streams of zeroes and ones with a quiet scream. And then it was Mokuba's turn to shout, his eyes widening as a deep rumble passed from below.

"HaH-AA _AAAHH_!" Crumbling had erupted around the area. Seto charged, skidding on her front to just barely catch her brother's arm as the ground beneath them fell away, fingers wrapping around the boy's wrist as his swords fell to the chasm below. The screams were continuing. Monsters were eating at her body, the same as that old nightmare she'd thought she'd shaken away with her 'revival'. Mokuba's screams joined in from the events of Death-T as she remembered but rather than helping, rather than saving him, she had laughed...

She'd...

"Mokuba! Gh..." The woman tightened her grip, her brother staring down at the chasm in horror as tears began to dot her eyes. Her brother... How had she ever done that to him... How? How could he look at her as he did, how could he ever speak to her as he did! "Mokuba... I've got you, so don't let go!" she told him, swallowing as more strain and emotion than ever seen on a regular basis entered her tone. "Don't let go... Don't..."

"H-Hahhh... I... I'm sorry!" the boy cried, weakly holding on as tears flooded his face. "I just wanted her to stop," he whispered, slowly being pulled up the cliff of darkness that had appeared. "I just wanted the screaming to stop, to keep it from going back to... To..."

The boy was pulled close, though for whose comfort it was uncertain as his sister's arms wrapped around him. "I know," Seto whispered, slowly standing up as she looked over the side of the cliff. "I know... It'll be alright though," she continued, partially to herself. "We... We'll just find our own way out. We just need to be cautious... We need to..."

She trailed off, holding the boy close as the screams continued to erupt around them, bringing forth emotions she had long since worked at forcing back. "Nggh..." Pain... "Hnggg..!" The monsters were back, gnawing at her bones, peeling the skin from her very flesh, and yet nothing was happening, it was all in her mind...

"N-Nee-sama," her brother cried, tears visible in his eyes as he forced the woman to open her own and look down. "Nee-sama!"

"It's not there," she told him, looking at him as the realm continued to collapse, screams echoing around them. Was he seeing these things? Was... Was he in danger? "It's not there," she continued despite her own pain, "Just ignore them... It's not..."

"But it is there, isn't it?" a voice muttered, Seto pulling her brother close only to tense as a 'spotlight' fell around them. Beside them and somewhat to the distance stood Noa, but unlike his previous appearances his eyes were filled with rage. They were wide and maddening, and as he hovered above them it was plain that he was done 'joking' with them. "You... To think that someone with such a close bond, and such a difficult life... You killed her..." The two swallowed, looking to where Noa was staring down as he continued. "I created that girl from your dearest memories, and you killed her... Of all the things..."

The sky appeared to disintegrate behind the boy, vanishing into nothing but darkness and the occasional string of code, leaving them to hover in place. It was darker than the black around them, darker than any void in space, than anything possibly seen by the human eye...

There was nothing there. It was simply empty.

Nothing.

And Noa stood at the center of it all, like some demonic god of shadows. "You... Find your own way through your memories," he told them, snapping his fingers as a vast and barren wasteland appeared around them, no wind blowing about them as they looked around in shock. The screams were gone...

But Noa still spoke, and any humor or charisma that he'd held before had vanished from his words.

"Until I decide what to do with you," he growled, "You won't find anyone... No monsters, no humans, no life... You will be alone," he sneered, eyes narrowing briefly before regaining the insane expression from before. "Left to find your own way... So good luck," he called out, disappearing into a shower of pixels as a crazed and rage filled grin came over him. "And enjoy the prison of your own memories, because you can't ignore the past... Kaseri!"

Those were the last words he left them with and it was with those words that Seto found herself standing by her brother in silence, eyes still as wide as they were with the arrival of the screams and nightmares. A breeze was passing now, and the wind was blowing just enough to bring a gust of wind beneath her cloak. But for the first time in a while, she found herself wondering...

Just what were they supposed to do now?


	7. In the Code

He wasn't completely sure why he 'felt' anything for this program that now sat before him. In fact he wasn't even sure why he'd reacted as he did, banishing the two siblings who had intruded on his family to the farthest reaches of his virtual 'world' while bringing this girl back for 'repairs'. He could not find out what made him even bother to appear before them to take her away, nor could he decide whether or not he was upset with the program for failing its task.

And above all he found himself worried about the 'back-up', and wondering if the program would be the same as it had been in those moments before Mokuba's blade cut through its updating form. Perhaps this was what it was like, having a 'sister', or a 'daughter'. Either way the programs, both 'Kisara' and 'Seraph', were quite unlike anything he had built before and it was with that in mind that he attempted to repair the damage done to the girl before him. The damage that despite all its fatal implications, still left the girl able to speak and comprehend her own 'design', reacting with slight emotions that had been granted in her final moments. She'd been given the seeming sensation of feeling after all, so as to interact with the scenery properly. It was only natural that on the first encounter of pain, the first signs of fear would come into existence.

And in the relief of that the emotion of gratitude, and sorrow. "Noa-sama," Kisara rasped, despite the inability to breathe and the lack of a reason to even do so. "Forgive me, Noa-sama... I couldn't find it..." It took only a moment to realize what the girl was talking about of course. The memory...

The memory that should have been there, that he knew had to be there after all that went on. The memory he wanted to see relived, the one that he wanted to use to make that woman realize just who she was dealing with! Instead of berating the white haired girl for her failures however he stared, placing a hand above the girl's sliced and slowly repairing abdomen with narrowed eyes. "It's fine," he found himself muttering, healing as much damage as he could whilst the pixels re-appeared and formed her body. "You did your best. I will just need to think of another strategy."

Of course for a program, or even a human he supposed, that was never good enough. "I should have found it," Kisara told him, sounding almost like a depressed child berating themselves for a loss. "I looked through everything you offered," she continued, "And yet I still failed. But I shouldn't have." Yes...

Well. "It is not your fault that the memory is repressed," Noa told her quietly, bringing his hand back to his sides as the damage continued to heal. "But for now you need to repair, understand? I will have new codes for you in a few moments," he continued, Kisara closing her eyes in response. "Perhaps that will make things easier. Until then, enter 'repair mode' until your wounds and upgrades are complete."

With a single blank tone the girl nodded, the glow about her seeming to fade. "Hai..." That was all he needed to hear.

Noa vanished from the 'room' in an instant, walking along the floors of circuitry that depicted the computer he was trapped inside. Why? Why was this memory so difficult to find he asked himself, vanishing to another realm with narrowed eyes after looking over his circuits in distaste. He knew the timeline where it happened; he'd even placed her almost directly before that moment, and had Kisara search through any and all important events in her history up until that last 'attack'. He knew it happened, and above all he even knew when... And the event was most certainly life-changing, one that would have attracted Kisara's sensors, but why hadn't he found it!

It was as though it had been carefully locked away, hidden within a box that not even Seto herself could open. A box that she probably didn't even know about.

The boy continued to frown with these thoughts, before shaking them off and stepping into one of the many 'realms' he'd created about the network. He would have to work on that in the back of his mind he decided, regaining a slight expression of calm. Set a small 'program' in his mind to search through for ideas on how to deal with this. For now, he would need to address another issue. And it was with those thoughts in mind that he entered one of the five virtual rooms his 'employees' had been given on their arrival, the room in question resembling a closed-in library study filled with books on law and myth both. As for the man he had come to visit...

He sat in his usual position, the one that he tended to take after finally choosing to take advantage of the near god-like powers of the Virtual World and it's information. Everyone went through that stage after a while he supposed... The question was merely when they would desire being mere mortals again. "Noa-sama," a surprised voice muttered, Oka turning from the desk he had buried behind a large stack of 'books'. The man hurriedly stood to bow politely, before adjusting his glasses and staring forward. "I... I was about to contact you," he stated almost humbly, swallowing an evident wave of unease. "Please... I must ask that you forgive the failures of my partners, I recently obtained the results of their battles... I was afraid you would be 'displeased'," he continued, more than obviously out to save his own skin rather than that of his partners.

The boy had to chuckle nonetheless though, hands stowed in his pockets as a smirk came over his face. Really... With a tone like that one would think he was about to smite him where he stood. Hnhnhnhnhn... "Now now Oka," he said with a chuckle, pacing toward the desk with a sigh. "I never said I was angry... I'm merely surprised," the boy drawled, shrugging dismissively as the former lawyer winced. "After all, I had thought you and your co-workers would prove useful to me," Noa went on as he continued to sigh, "But so far you're merely providing menial sources of pointless entertainment... Personally, I think I'll be cutting this deal short," he muttered, turning to Oka with a menacing grin, "And sending you and your 'friends' back to that computer system on the mainland..."

At this the lawyer paled, glasses slipping somewhat as he choked. "A-Ahh... W-Wait!" Oka begged, shaking his head as his 'employer' moved to leave. "The last two... They're useless when it comes to games like this, really, their loss was practically guaranteed!" the man shouted, Noa watching in hidden amusement as Oka continued to beg. "But me... I'm different," he continued, leaning over his desk with a desperate look in his eyes. "Completely different... I'm not like those two, I'm much better... So please, Noa-sama," he begged, "Please, just give me a chance!" Hnn... Well. Obviously the threat had worked...

He'd been wondering just how much he'd have to do before he separated the man from his internet resources and sent him into a duel. "Hn... Very well," he said with a sigh, snapping his fingers as they were 'transported' to a separate area of the system. Stacks and shelves of books and trinkets scattered through the wind, replaced with a wide and expansive darkness that led from a door to nowhere. An 'empty folder', ready for whatever arena Oka chose to fill it with.

Along with whatever challenges he saw fit to add in. "You have five minutes to build your realm for your next battle," Noa explained, stepping through the darkness to take his leave. "I trust you know of your opponent?" he asked as he glanced back, the man nodding with a dark smile in place. Hmp! Lawyers... Once they opened their mouths not a word of truth passed their lips...

And if they weren't talking who knew what they were thinking. "I've decided on the blond," Oka told him, a glimmer of distaste appearing in his eyes at the mention. "He should be here any moment now I would think... I'll be taking his body as my own." Well, well, well now...

"Jonouchi Katsuya?" Noa confirmed, eyebrows raising slightly. Otaki's choice had been understandable, if not somewhat cringe-worthy to the weak minded; non-professional duelist, female, and disoriented for reasons unknown. Ota himself had targeted no one in particular, merely setting his 'lair' up so that many of the guests' current locations eventually fed into his own realm. Oshita had taken Yugi as part of his personal desire for vengeance. Likewise, Daimon had chosen to wait at the end of Kaiba's memories...

This however, was the first one that seemed to center on _more_ than a drive for a vengeance.

"You're fairly confident..." Choosing to take down Jonouchi, at least. Like his friend 'Yugi', his rank continued to rise- unlike Yugi however he hadn't gained it almost 'overnight' in terms of world view, as with the 'Death-T' match of 2018. If anything it was probably the most interesting case of honest growth he'd ever seen... At least next to a few examples in the USA. Nonetheless a smirk continued to play across his face, eyes narrowing with mirth as he pondered what would happen next. "Hnhnhnhnhn... I suppose I'll have to watch and see what happens then," he continued, fading out of existence. "Don't disappoint me," he warned, smoking away completely with those last words.

"I won't," Oka assured him, vanishing from sight with narrowed eyes. "Believe me!" Hn. 'Believe' in a lawyer, really! What a crafty guy... He already knew that this man was up to something. Perhaps it was something worth looking after, but there were other ways to keep tabs.

Ways such as 'Seraph'. The boy nodded to himself at the idea, opting to simply put the rest of his thoughts elsewhere as he traveled back through his cybernetic realm. After all he had other things to deal with right now, other things to be _bothered_ with dealing with. And if things got out of hand, he'd just have to cut in before it became too serious. For now however...

He had his 'daughter' to look after.

* * *

A program.

That was what Seraph had called Noa. It was probably the bluntest way to put it, but that was still what he had said.

'Program'.

"How?" he muttered, shaking his head as he took a step back from the boy. "A 'program'... How is tha' ev'n-"

"Perhaps I should clarify," the boy responded, feathers shifting slightly as he spoke. "Noa-sama is a 'program' in that his mind, during the time of greatest weakness," he explained plainly, "Was completely uploaded into an electronic device nine years ago. It was a risky process back then; and more importantly," he continued, "A final solution. However it worked, and so he has lived on through those times." And 'those times', if he was right... Were probably nine years. Which meant that for all that time, Noa was...

"Why... Why would anyone do that!" he shouted, shaking his head as he turned back to the guide. "If someone's dyin'... You have t' let go don't yah? Y' can't jus' force 'm t' live like that," he pressed, "He isn' even human any more, with something like that!"

"Wrong," responded the guide, his charge narrowing his eyes with confusion.

"Wh-?" Wrong?

Seraph's monotonous stare seemed almost angry with that statement, the boy continuing on with his explanation. "Noa-sama is within the computer that is true, and placed deep enough to say that his will controls all within this world. But Noa-sama is still human," he continued, not looking away from the blond. "He holds within him human emotions, anger, betrayal, and rage, such as that which a program such as myself cannot comprehend. He has a goal," the boy explained, "And if he were truly machine, he would fulfill that goal without question. However he instead formed a convoluted and failing plan, from base emotions of guilt and neglect. That is why you must realize, no matter how hard he tries, that Noa-sama is 'human'. And even at the ends of time," Seraph continued, "He will still remain as such. Noa-sama is not a machine," he repeated. "He is 'human'."

'Human'... Katsuya stared, narrowing his eyes at the boy before him. And he was taking this from the words of a computer created by the guy? " _A good point of caution. Then again,_ " his 'friend' muttered, " _Is it possible for a computer to lie, even about this?_ " Was it possible for a computer to be wrong he countered, receiving no response.

Katsuya continued to stare as the boy before him turned to the side of the hallway, placing a hand on the wall. "Your opponent has completed his preparations," he said plainly, fingertips appearing to almost glow as they reacted to the contact. "Our conversation has ended. I will guide you to the entrance of the field, and take my leave. Now," the boy told him, eyes glowing white as he pushed lightly against the structure. "Watch."

Crumbling filled the air, spiderweb cracks spreading from the boy's hand to form an intricate spiraling pattern before the wall crumbled completely into pieces. Meeting his gaze was a long metal hall, with only one clear exit... The airship hangar from the real world.

"You will find your opponent within the depths of this 'room'," Seraph told him, slowly scattering in a flurry of pixels from the bottom up. "He will test your skills first," he explained while his charge stared down the hall, "And then, provided you succeed, he will begin the fight."

"Test my- ...Wait!" Katsuya called out, turning back as he spotted the fading pixels in the air. "Where'r you goin' then?" he asked, looking to the boy with a frown. "You aren' stayin'?"

Seraph shook his head, looking up at the blond. "My duty is complete," the boy said blankly. "I will now 'end' the program. Such is my code, and the existence of a program," he explained, the disintegration of his self already reaching his knees. End pr-

"W-Wait! Y' mean yer gonna die," he shouted with wide eyes, "Yer gonna die an tha's it?" Seraph merely continued to stare off blankly, seemingly looking past the teen before him rather than at him.

I was never 'alive' to begin with, Katsuya-sama." Erm... Sama? Since when was he the 'sama' type, hell... The blond stared, shaking his head as the boy gestured to the hall with his still present hand. "Now, go... Please," he 'asked', before turning away. "I am done." Go...

He looked back down the hall, biting his lip as the almost ghostly lights of the dead hall greeted him. It was altogether more frightening than the real world's counterpart, with emptiness staring him in the face amid a flickering and dying light. Alright... He was g-

"Ah-" Katsuya turned, jumping as the boy grabbed the hem of his cloak. "Didn' you jus' tell me t' le-"

"...Re... Set," the program whispered, not looking toward his charge. His body was almost completely gone by this point, his eyes shadowed by grey hair as the wings and helm vanished into dust. "Please," he repeated, voice filled with an emotion that far betrayed his former monotonous speech patterns. "'Reset'."

"Wh..." What... The boy turned his head upward as he continued to vanish, eyes briefly filling with life as he spoke.

"Don't pause the 'game'," he told him, his hand vanishing as he drew back through the air. "Reset."

"What... What are y' talkin' abou- S-Seraph!" he shouted, reaching forward to grab at the boy. "Oi! What do y' mean by r'set?! Oi!" With no further words the boy scattered completely into shards of light, Katsuya's outstretched hand touching nothing but air. No...

He was... Gone.

But why did he even feel like this, it was a 'program' wasn't it? Wasn't it? "Seraph... SERAPH!" he roared, the spirit in the back of his mind seeming to observe in brief silence.

" _I doubt we'll see him again,_ " his partner muttered, Katsuya nodding in response. " _Though who knows; for now, you need to focus on escaping this place Merea_." Escape...

Right. Then, with that in mind...

The blond turned back to the rest of the hall, walking forward with a nervous swallow. Creating the airship and the hangar... Which ever one of the five he was fighting, they were obviously the more cruel of the group, if they wanted to bring up reality in this way. Though which one of the five was more of an ass than the other was fairly hard to tell. Briefly he wondered how the others were doing. What kinds of things they'd wound up fighting, what kind of place they'd woken up in. Seto... Yugi... And...

"Shizuka," he whispered, biting his lip. Seto could handle herself without a doubt, and between herself and Yugi not a single member of the 'Big 5' stood a chance in hell. He could get worried all he wanted about them but thankfully that fact wouldn't change, and in the end he knew that they'd both pull through. But as to how Shizuka was doing...

Not to mention Mokuba, Honda, and the rest.

The blond shook himself as he came into the darkened hangar, stepping aboard the open airship and looking around in the dark. This place... The airship. For some reason he noted, one of the doors were still open at the far end of the hall, one very specific door. No one was here...

But all the same. "Why that room?" he muttered, receiving no answer from the chilled hall. Katsuya walked over toward it in silence, cold metal chilling his feet through the sandals as he looked inside. This room...

Mai's room. And to get there, pass Malik's room... Someone who despite never following them into this realm, still managed to bring shivers down his spine. Katsuya peered inside the room in question, nervously stepping forward as the silence drilled at his mind. As with the rest of the area the room was dark. The steady sound of monitors and machines could be heard as he drew close however, creating a low hum. And there she was...

Or at least, an illusion of her. She was laying in her bed, as motionless as the real world's counterpart, but had it not been for that knowledge he'd have almost believed she was really here. Believed that he'd come back to the real world, woken up only to return to find everyone gone. Katsuya stood at the woman's bedside, narrowing his eyes somewhat as he recalled Malik's words to him.

_'You have twenty four hours... If you don't kill me before then, then this woman will never wake up...'_ He had less than twenty hours now before she died... Less than a full day, and he was trapped in here. But he wouldn't be for long.

"...Wait for me Mai," he whispered, gripping his staff tightly as he bowed his head in silent rage. "I'll d'feat Malik... An' I'll get y' outta whatever hell he's stuck you in!" The blond turned away, briefly glancing back before looking toward the door. "Now... T' get outta here an-"

_-sffff-_

"Eh..?" Katsuya hurriedly stepped back as he turned to face the bed again, watching as the blanket shifted before him. With complete silence 'Mai' had sat up, turning her head toward the blond and slowly getting out of the bed with all the subtleties of a stripper. Really, it was things like this that made him remember that Mai's clothes were on the side so that the machines could be attached properly, so that the woman could breath properly, and so that...

Um...

"F-Fuck..." Yeah.

She wasn't wearing anything right now.

~~And he'd looked down. Damn it.~~

"Alrigh'!" he growled with a red face, "Th' airship w's one thing, but puttin' a fake Mai in here's a whole other story!"

"Oh?" a deep, and clearly male voice asked, 'Mai' raising a coy eyebrow. "So you saw through all of this then?" S-S-Sfff...

"H-HIHHHHH! What th' hell!?" he screamed, voice raising considerably with awkward fear. "Wh-What... WHAT! That ain't right!" he protested, "Holy SHIT that ain' right!"

'Mai' chuckled, before shifting seamlessly into the form of a familiar 'lawyer' that had more or less been the bane of his existence before, adjusting a tie around his neck before continuing to laugh. Oka. This was-

"Hnhnhnhnhn... You'll have to forgive me," he stated politely, holding out a card as he bowed his head and smiled, "I was merely checking to see if you would be foolish enough to believe you were- Gh!"

A crack sounded through the air, Katsuya holding his clenched fist with narrowed eyes as he threw his opponent across the side of the room. The bed smacked solidly into the machines from the force, clattering echoing about the ship. "Asshole... What kinda moron would fall f'r that!" the blond spat, Oka slowly pulling himself up from the floor while he continued. "I w's in a mansion two seconds ago, you think I'd be tha' stupid!"

" _Wellllll,_ " muttered the ghost in his mind, quickly quieted by a rush of anger from his 'host'. " _...Never mind, go on._ "

Oka merely wiped the side of his mouth, cracking his jaw and adjusting his glasses in an attempt to make himself more 'presentable' despite the fractured bone and bleeding lip. "Hn! Nice to see that things haven't changed," he muttered darkly, Katsuya merely scowling from across him. Tch...

Lawyers. "Keh... Trus' me... Given what I know abou' lawyers, tha's th' least I could do- Las' I checked," he continued bitterly, "Yer job was t' find th' truth... Not cover it up an' hope no one found out!"

The lawyer smirked, shaking his head as he gave an almost dismissive sigh. "Ahh yes, the 'truth'... What did you define it as during out last meeting again? 'The cold facts'?" Something like that. Oka chuckled as he was met with a blank scowl however, crossing his arms. "Hnhnhnhnhn... I suppose that to you that was too difficult a question really. After all, I am the only 'truth'," he continued, "Turning even black into white... Such is my power..."

"Tch... Shut up already an' fight!" Katsuya roared, hangar light barely illuminating the rage in his face. "That's what we're here for ain't it? You're my opponent righ'?"

Oka's smirk grew in response, glasses gleaming in the dull light of the room. "Very true... But you know," he warned with a grin, "If you lose, your body will become mine... You'll end up turning into what you hate," he chuckled, "And do you really want that?"

The blond narrowed his eyes, gripping his staff as he took a fighting stance. "Doesn' matter," he growled, "'Cause I ain't gonna lose! An' t' get outta here, I gotta beat you anyways... So I don' have much 'f a choice, now do I?" he asked, waiting for his opponent's reaction. The lawyer shook his head, crossing his arms as the scene appeared to whirl.

"True," he muttered, "Very true... In that case!" he announced loudly, flying back through the air as his body began to shift, scents and smokes spiraling to form a field, "Welcome to the grand court, the gates to the realm of the great judge 'Enma'! I stand before you as the judge of your very soul!" the 'demon' roared, "And as the judge of your worth in escape! So Jonouchi Katsuya," he ordered, hovering in the air as he came to rest on a skyborne 'stand' amid flame filled lands and mountains of knives. "Choose your cards!" Tch!

"Same t' you..!"

* * *

"Woah..."

Little words could initially describe the place they stood, and the 'mind' they were in. Where was this he wondered, looking around them with wide eyes. Where was this desert, with a shack of a stable house to one side and a series of distant cliffs in another. The stone arch that they'd passed through had crumbled into dust the moment he and Anzu had entered this place it had seemed, leaving them stranded on the sands of some great and enormous land. There was no way to tell why they were in the desert... Or even how.

But as they stood together in the sands 'Ren' himself seemed to look about curiously, head bobbing as he attempted to gain a better view of the area. "Damn," the serpent muttered, shaking his head after glancing at the stars above. "We're right near Memphis... Probably not to far south from where it should be even," he muttered, eyes wide, "But all I can see is sand..."

Anzu blinked at this, holding the snake out on her wrist to speak with him easier. "Ah- You know where we are then?" she asked, the serpent scoffing in response.

"Hey, I'm an Egyptian cobra, of course I do! ...Well... Mostly anyway," he added, looking back up at the sky to squint before turning. "Normally I can find my way around a desert easy by looking at the stars and such," he explained, Anzu momentarily ignoring the mention of a thought that likely wasn't hers, "But those cliffs over there don't look familiar at all, not to this area. And hell, don't even get me started on this stable house..."

Well the stable house was understandable, not to say anyone couldn't just pass over it walking on the hills around them. But the cliffs? Other than the far distant ones then?

The others turned around to follow Ren's gaze, blinking as a triad of large and fairly conspicuous stone walls came into view. "Wh- Hah... They... They're huge!" Yugi cried, the somewhat distant cliffs appearing almost the size of the stable house from the distance they were at.

"Yeaaah... And you know what," the snake said with a drawl, "I hear they're even bigger up close!"

"Ren," Anzu warned, Yugi merely tensing somewhat as his other growled.

"Whaaaaaaat?"

" _This snake is beginning to annoy me considerably_ ," the spirit muttered, likely grinding his teeth. " _And you're sure you can't just kill it?_ " Not if they didn't want to upset Anzu...

Yugi sighed, rubbing his head before looking back toward the cliffs and ignored the sarcasm from the 'team pet'. "Well, they're our best sign of what to go after here I suppose," he decided, the other two nodding in agreement. "Are those sorts of cliffs normal here though?" he asked, the snake blinking in response.

"Those ones? Not really," Ren said plainly, pulling as much of a frown as was possible. "Most cliffs here are formed because of the nile, or some other body of water... You don't find rocks just sitting in the middle of nowhere," he went on, "They're either sand by now or ruins from some kind of temple. And even if those were Nile cliffs," he continued knowledgeably, Anzu looking fairly surprised about the fact that this was supposedly coming from a fragment of herself, "There'd be a lot more rock! ...Not to mention water," he added dryly, the others again shaking their heads.

Sarcasm and annoyances aside, it looked as though the snake had a point. "Like Yugi said then, it's as good a guess as anything," Anzu repeated, making her way forward as her friend followed behind in the drifting sand. "So whose memories do you think we're in anyways?" she continued, looking around with a frown. "I mean... I don't think any of us have ever been to Egypt, and if anything," the woman continued, sliding down the side of a sand hill before moving on, "I'd have expected that from your mind Yugi... No offense or anything," she added, "It just seems more like 'your thing'." Ahahaha...

The boy shrugged, a smile on his face as he slid down to continue after his friend. "It's fine... Actually, it might be Otogi's," he mentioned, the footprints they left behind vanishing in the winds around them as sand whipped past their faces on a dull breeze. "Otogi's tou-san made him do a lot of research when it came to Ancient Egypt, and even something that came before Egypt," he added, the smile replacing itself with a slight frown. "I wouldn't be surprised if they actually traveled here."

"Ehhh... I don't know," Ren muttered, 'shrugging' from his again moved position atop Anzu's head. "This doesn't feel like dice-boy's head..."

"And you would know that how?" Anzu asked, the others turning to look rather accusingly at the snake as it cringed.

"Uhhhhhh..."

A great rumbling sound broke through the air, cutting the serpent's excuse short as a voice followed behind it. " ** _You who trespass on sacred lands_** ," a booming voice demanded, the sound of crumbling rocks and stones piercing the sky. " **STATE YOUR BUSINESS**."

"You know," Ren coughed as he looked up, "I don't know about you, but I think that matters more."

"Wha-" The others frowned, before jumping as the words sounded once again.

" **STATE. YOUR. BUSINESS!** " roared the great beast that seemingly came from no where, Yugi and Anzu both turning to follow Ren's gaze with wide eyes as they realized what the source was.

"The cliffs," Anzu whispered, stumbling back with a pale expression as shards of stone continued to fall from the bipedal and dinosaur-like dragon before her. "The cliffs have..."

"RUN!" Yugi shouted, pulling Anzu out of the way as a massive and draconic 'foot' slammed down on where they'd stood moments before. "Just run!"

"Run? Oh come on, we can take these things!" Ren shouted, the other two busying themselves with ducking under a blast of sand as the monster behind them gave another roar. A crater formed just inches behind them as sand poured down in a shower of dust, the humans of the group covering their ear as another snarl came from behind.

"Are you INSANE?" Anzu screeched, looking to the snake as it hung off her arm. "That thing's the size of Tokyo Tower!"

At this the snake snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah? And how big did I get during that last match?"

"The match-" The woman blinked, eyes widening with realization as she and Yugi took refuge behind a piece of some stone ruin hidden amid the rocks. "Ahh... Right! The duel!"

"Ah? Anzu?" her friend asked, goggles momentarily pulled on in the monster-created sandstorm "What are you talking abo-"

"Hang on a second," she quickly said, closing her eyes as she pulled up her 'menu'. To a slight extent he could see the spells on the list, the screen hovering before his friend's left eye as she muttered to herself. Level one spells including 'thunder-blizzard-fire-quake', level two 'lightning-hailstorm-fireball and fissure, level th-

"A-AH!" The boy coughed, eyes widening as he looked over the impressive series of spells. "You have a third tier of spells already..!"

"For one of them at least," the woman's familiar muttered. "I don't know how much experience we got from the fight. And if we don't have the upgrade for the other one..."

"Got it!" his partner shouted, a wide and somewhat uncharacteristic grin growing on her face.

"Oh! Well, never mind then!" the serpent said with a grin, his partner turning to face the dragon with an odd laugh as Yugi frowned. "Let's do this! Should be fun!"

"RIGHT!"

"Um, Anzu?"

"Let's GO!"

"Erm... A-ANZU!" he called out, turning with wide eyes as he caught the look on his friend's face. Without another word the woman had hopped onto the stone they hid behind, hand held toward the stone dragon with a near maddening stare, the grin across her face far betraying her usual emotions. "Anzu!" he repeated, watching his friend charge toward the dragon. "Hey!"

" _This- What is she doing?_ " his other self muttered, " _She's going to get herself-_ "

Light erupted from at the woman's feet, sending a gale up from its source to blow the robes in a constant and strong spiral. A seal appeared beneath her, and as Ren dropped and swirled around the ground he grew in size once more, scales taking a frosty tone as the glyphs on his back became caverns in the ice. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH! NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A FIGHT!" the serpent roared, Yugi's blood draining as the laughter was mirrored by Ren's charge.

" _AVALANCHE_!" the woman roared, a golden eye seeming to arise on both her brow and that of the snake's, her familiar charging the dragon as it grew beyond the cliff-sized monster's height.

" **Gh- What-!** "

Ren struck immediately as the dragon froze in shock, his form increasing in size and power both as he opened his mouth to deliver his blow. "Open WIDE," the snake cackled with a grin, the expression mirrored to a frightening extent by his partner as Yugi stared. "IT'S DINNER TIME!"

"Oh my..."

"Ha- HRAAA _AAAAHHHH_! "

_-crunch-_

Ren's jaws closed over the maw of the dragon, hoisting it off the ground before opening his mouth wider. Stone limbs pushed and pressed against the mouth but to no avail; succumbing to gravity the beast fell forward, squeezed tight by the serpent's muscles and in the end limply falling further inside it's maw. A lump formed in the serpent's throat as Ren closed his mouth, the form traveling slowly downward as it swallowed. Further... Further...

Ren lowered his head, the grin still on his face as the glow faded. "Man," he said with a grin, his partner appearing to shake herself from some unknown mental freeze. "That was great!"

Within seconds of saying this however the expression of elation followed the same fate as their opponent, the serpent shrinking back to his original size as he screamed and writhed upon the ground.

"GhG _RAAAAAHHH_! FUCK! FUUUUUCK! AUGH!"

"R-Ren!" Anzu paled, running over to the snake with wide eyes as Yugi hurriedly followed toward him. "Ren, what's going-"

"AWWWWWW... I feel like I'm going to puke a mountain!" he moaned, rolling on his back as his tail thumped the ground. "Sweet mother of all, just end it now!" Yugi and Anzu both traded glances, the former briefly holding back his question on the 'eye of udjat' as he looked back to the snake.

"It must be because of the dragon you ate," he muttered, biting his lip. "There's probably something in the game that prevents that from being acceptable..."

"Ghhhhnn... Would have been good to know BEFORE!" he hissed, fangs bared and hood wide as he thrashed. "Augggggh..! GET ME PEPTO-BISMOL DAMN IT!" They were in a virtual world though...

"Hahhh... Well look on the bright side," Anzu assured him, picking the snake up in her fingers as it continued to groan in pain, "That was all there was, and now we can just let this pass and-"

_-BROUM. ...BROUM. ...BROUM_!

...Uhhh...

The trio turned back, swallowing as a pair of shadows arose over them with great sunken sockets eyes set on stone faces.

"Gh... What was that you were saying again?" Ren asked, grunting through his pain as he hissed "I didn't hear you over the sound of these two GIANT STONE DRAGONS CORNERING US!"

"REN... NOT now!" Anzu snarled, glaring at the serpent before looking back to the two quadruped dragons.

" **Hn! So you have defeated our sister... Do you feel you can defeat US?** " the first roared, rearing on its hind legs with a snarl as it revealed multiple razor rock teeth. " **Or are you a coward,** " he spat, " **As shown moments before?** "

"C-Coward?"

"...Wait, sister?"

As he drew back with Anzu's hand in his own, he had a nasty feeling that his wasn't Otogi's head they were in.

* * *

Choosing cards for his deck had been relatively easy in his opinion. The giant screen had appeared around him, shielding him from the view of the endless and dreary plain of shadows that made up 'hell', with each card more or less recognizable in an instant. Gone were the views of 'Naraka's mountains of knives, the somewhat close swamps of fire and stone, along with the distant plains of ice. Like the screen before from the game start, it took only a tap to take each card. A spell here, a trap here...

For the most part he didn't pick anything he didn't know from his real deck, keeping his eyes on the field as it slowly came back to view. Avoiding the mountains in the fight was probably a good idea he told himself, same with that cliff. Now...

What other cards to take? (He certainly wasn't taking Red Eyes...)

" _Jonouchi,_ " his 'friend' muttered, the blond pausing as he looked at the cards. " _I'll keep out of the fight from this point on... But that card..._ " Ah?

'The Burning Soul – Ally Slaying Sword' "This one?" he repeated, pointing toward it with a whisper. There was no answer, and for a moment the blond stared. It certainly looked handy, provided it was the one the ghost referred to; it would add the attack of a tributed monster to whatever it was equipped to, and given the kind of power that could bring... "Alrigh'," he decided, tapping that last card as the dome vanished around him in a flash. "I'm ready, 'Oka'! Bring it on- I'll punt y' righ' back t' hell if I have t'!"

"Hn! Appropriate words," his opponent rumbled, gavel in hand as he slammed it against the stand before him. A cold wind blew against the blond, Katsuya shivering as mire formed of decayed corpses clung to his feet. "I wonder though... Just how will you do this without being able to reach me?" Gh..! The blond tensed at the reminder, clutching his staff as he looked above at the storm cloud his opponent stood on. "I hold the advantage... And no matter what monster you choose to assimilate, that won't change! Now... Choose your deckmaster!" he ordered, slamming the gavel on the stand with a fanged grin, "And prepare yourself!" Deckmaster...

Right, he had to pick a monster! Again the screen appeared before him, various monsters hovering before his eyes. Alligator Sword, Panther Warrior, Rocket Warrior... All the monsters he'd fought with over the months since he'd taken up the game. And in the middle of the list...

"Ah... Flame Swordsman," he muttered, blinking somewhat as he passed the card. This guy... He'd been in his deck from the very start, hahaha. Heck, by this point he probably had one of the few legal 'non-fusion' ones, seeing how most people had to fuse to create the monster now. Well... Seeing how he'd fought by his side that long it was his turn to return the favor he decided, tapping the card with a slight nod. As the screen flashed out of existence the effects arose instantaneously. A rush of heat filled his body, breath growing hot as his eyes glowed gold. Fire... His cloak sprung into flames, flickering with his very heartbeat as his hair as well seemed to shine, and ashes fell from the embers of his clothing. Fire...

He was fire, he was the swordsman...

Hurriedly the blond contained himself, giving off another smoked breath of air before turning upward. Alright... "I've picked my deckmaster!" he shouted, instantly aware of the abilities that came with his position. "Now lets do this!"

Again the Judgeman nodded, gavel's pound echoing through the air. "Very well! Start the fight; I summon to my aid the Hysteric Angel in attack mode," he announced, the business dressed woman shimmering into existence as she soared forward on the air. Despite the lack of weapons it was evident that the angel could fight; gripping a clipboard in hand she adjusted the glasses on her face, and with a maddening laugh pointed a finger forward, evidently choosing to attack out of turn by means of the 'battle' rather than the duel.

" _AERO!_ " the business woman screeched, Katsuya's eyes widening. Aer-

"Gh!" The blond rolled to the side as the blast of wind came, gritting his teeth and watching as the attack blew filth and grime into the air. "Tch... Gonna play like tha' are y'?" he shouted, cards appearing in his mind as he regained his footing. Lousy bitch... He'd almost run into the damn mountains! Alright. Time to see how his ability fared! "Tha' case, I summon Gearfried th' Iron Knight! An' while I'm doin' that," he continued, the monster in question appearing from the sand rather than the standard tablet at his side, "I activate my ability; I take five hundr'd of my deckmaster's attack power... An' my own," he added with narrowed eyes, "T' give it t' Gearfried!"

As Gearfried completed forming from the remains on the ground the etchings of his armor seemed to glow. A wave of weakness passed over him, and just ahead the knight clacked one of the blades from his arms to take aim at the woman above.

"Now!" he roared, briefly stumbling forward on his staff as the iron knight at his side clenched his blade-covered fists, "ATTACK!"

Had this been real he'd have heard the knight grunt, along with the phrase 'with pleasure'. He'd have bit his lip as a metal 'spear' gouged the Hysteric Angel's stomach, spilling bile and blood both to the ground. However this was not reality he told himself, and though it was oddly bizarre to see the monsters acting as mere programs, it was at least proof of the fact that this was fake. As the blade cut through Hysteric Angel in fact it was even a relief. For once the usual spray of blood was minimized, and the screams mere cries of shock as the feathers scattered into pixels rather than falling to the ground in a sticky mess.

"Hn! So you already know how to utilize your deckmaster ability," his opponent muttered with a snort, Katsuya merely looking up with narrowed eyes from the side of his knight. Hn! Of course he did... Did he seem so stupid? "I'll set a monster face down," the demonic lawyer/judge added shortly, crossing his arms as a glassy panel appeared before him before fading out of sight. "And with that, my turn is over..." Defense eh...

The blond briefly closed his eyes as a new card appeared in the back of his mind, menu already scrolling as he made his decision for the next 'move'. He still had 1300 'attack points' left... In that case it would be best to play it safe, at least until he had something that could get him to that cloud. "I summon th' Little Winguard," he decided, gesturing to the side as the monster appeared. Rising from the mulch at the side it was again 'different' from the one he knew, wrong in every manner of action. The 'real' Winguard acted like some child soldier, constantly worrying about what the monsters of the deck thought of him or whether or not he would be useful. This one merely stood, ready for battle with unblinking eyes as it peered toward their opponent. But hey; he could 'fly' to some extent, right? The monster seemed to nod with that mental question, Katsuya looking back to his opponent. Alright. It wasn't like he could use this thing to fly himself up, but in that case... "I'm activatin' my effect again!" he announced, rapping the bottom of his staff against the cold and barren swamp ground, managing to create a loud 'clack' despite there being nothing but mush at their feet. "I give three hundr'd attack points t' th' Winguard," he continued as the weakness and dizziness struck him, "An' after tha', he attacks your monster!"

The winguard acted immediately as his master leaned on his staff, jumping forward with considerable strength before bringing the sword down through the shimmering panel before them. Spiderwebbing cracks appeared in the air... Until shards blasted across the air, the faded after image of a cherub-like angel following within seconds. "Hng! Skelengel's effect activates!" Oka responded, unphased by the attack. "Allowing me to draw one card..." Hn!

"Well, tha's jus' great," the blond called up in response, "But 's that card gonna help wi' this? Gearfried attacks d'rectly!" he roared, his knight charging forward to toss one of the two detachable blades from his arms toward the demon. "Le's see y' not get hit from yer throne in th' sky!"

The blade did not appear to hit the Judge before him despite these words. If anything it embedded itself into the wooden stand instead, driving itself deep into the front to completely destroy the wooden table before the target. With a sudden scream however Oka dropped his gavel, grabbing his leg in pain as the wood before him collapsed and burned away to reveal evidence of a strike. Blood was flowing freely from the wound, spurting with every beat of his heart, even more so after he tore the blade out and threw it to the side.

"Gh... Go right ahead!" he spat, fanged teeth scratching his skin as solid white eyes leered down at him. "It won't matter in the end... I set the Holy Elf in defense mode," the demon continued, pointing his hand forward with a snarl. "And lastly, a card face down." Ohhhh...

He was so 'scared'... Katsuya gave a long and sarcastic whistle, shaking his head as the elf in question appeared cross-legged at the demon judge's side. "Yeaaaah... A trap, scary! Yer jus' runnin' an' hidin'!" he shouted, pointing up toward the demon's cloud with narrowed eyes as his opponent snarled at the taunts. "Try fightin' like a man instead 'f hidin' b'hind tha' stupid 'desk' 'f yours!"

Trap card. It could be dangerous, or it could not, but there was obviously only one thing to do! Press forward...

Fight! "I'm summonin' th' Rocket Warrior!" he called out, again slamming the bottom of his staff on the crackling and rotted ground as a pillar of sand arose to form his third monster. "An' t' start off my move, Gearfried attacks- too bad y' had t' stay up there th' entire match," the blond shouted with a smirk, brushing a bit of hair from his eyes as his new warrior joined in the others silent stare toward the opponent. "Maybe you'd 've gone out better!"

"Hn... That's what you think?" Oka snorted, now standing atop the empty cloud as a clap of thunder came through the air. Storm clouds moved in on the sky, further sending the field into darkness despite the occasional illumination from the lightning. "I activate my own ability!" he roared, clawed hands outstretched as the water-less storm continued to rage, "DEATH SENTENCE! All of your monsters!" he continued at a roar, "Excluding your own self, are removed from the field... And for each one destroyed," the man shouted, Katsuya mentally berating himself for forgetting that both sides had abilities such as this, "You lose 500 points of damage!" Five hundred-

An explosion threw him back against the mountains at the side, blood filling his lungs and throat as he gave an agonized cough. "G-GHAAAAHH! GHK!" Sand tore at his form as his monsters burst into dust, the grit scratching at his skin and dampening the flames of his cloak. Dirt and grime coated his throat, and as he managed to force himself off the bladed mountains he found himself collapsing on his staff for support. "Ghhhaaaaaahh... Ahhhh... Ghk... Hnggh... Y-You..." He took a weak step forward, narrowing his eyes as the storm battered his opponent as well. Blood coated his back, covered by the flames of his cloak... It ran down the sides of his mouth, sustained only by his 'life points'. "You bastard..." He'd waited for that...waited for him to fill the field so he could clear him out...

  
  
Bastard... "Now now... Don't look so distraught..." Distraught? He'd show him distraught damn it... "...That cost me 1000 life points," Oka chuckled, demonic grin made even more fearsome by the storm around him as his opponent leered. "You can figure out how much damage that is, can't you?" How much... It was a whole damn lot, that was for sure! That meant Oka only had 200 life points left though. And with that in mind...

The blond closed his eyes, heaving another splatter of blood to the ground before forcing himself to his feet. His next card was appearing in the back of his mind just now- 'Bottomless Trap Hole', perfect for anything that Oka used his Holy Elf to bring to the field. And seeing how there were no other monsters in his hand, it was all he had. It was this or nothing... "Hahh... I set a card face down, an' end my turn," he rasped, hands clutching the staff tightly as he attempted to regain his strength. "Your move!"

See if he'd go down without a fight!


	8. Hold Your Tongue

For the past number of minutes Anzu and Yugi had spent a lot of time together. And he really enjoyed that, he really did! Hell he would have given anything to hold Anzu's hand like this before. It was just...

_Really_ a pity that they couldn't spend it walking together rather than running for their lives. Not to mention the fact was that if it hadn't been for the computer's mysterious ability to increase their stamina they would have long since become 'mountain food', and any background and hormonal driven thoughts of romance would have been even more squashed than before.

In fact he wasn't even sure why those were coming to mind, and-

The boy blushed as Anzu pulled him to a quicker pace, hand gripped tightly in hers. Right. That was why. As it was, the carvings on the dragon's legs, along with their manner of speech said quite clearly that it wasn't Otogi's mind they stood in now. In fact he realized, ducking behind another cliff with ragged breaths, he was having troubles convincing the others of just whose mind it was...

And when he shouted it over the snarls and growls from the monsters, the group managing to find the cliff lined shores of the nile for cover, it took a bit before they answered.

"Alright?" Anzu said with a gasp of air, having spent another fair chunk of magic power firing 'Blizzard' attacks at the monsters to gain enough time to hide. "Tell me again whose head you think this is?"

"Jonouchi-kun's," Yugi said seriously, gaining an odd look from Ren as well as his 'master' in response to the blunt response. "I... I know it's strange," he continued, rubbing his neck as a similar feeling of awkwardness came from his other half, "But it's definitely his! The dragons have his sense of honor... And the desert... Ah..." He cut himself short, turning away with a small frown. That was right...

Outside what Jonouchi had trusted him with, he showed no interest in Egypt, so he couldn't well say anything... Although...

Ren seemed to narrow his eyes, tongue flickering in and out with annoyance before he shook himself. "I'd say ' _aaaaand_ ', but we don't exactly have time," he hissed, slithering over Anzu's arms to look off to the side. The thundering continued through the air, shaking the ground as the snake winced. "Heck, I'm surprised we can still talk."

" _RAAAAAAOOOO_!"

The dragons' fearsome roar rumbled over head, Anzu's eyes widening as she peered over the rock wall at the source. "Gh- Crap!" The mage of the group stood, immediately pointing her staff forward with a swallow. "HAIL STORM!" she cried, the stone of the staff dying blue. Pellets of ice comparable in size to boulders erupted from the tip of the staff, pounding into their attackers in an instant as the beasts snarled in displeasure. "Hurry!" she cried, Ren curling about her wrist as the woman grabbed Yugi's hand to pull him away. "That won't last long, and I can only do this so many times!" Gh...

That was right, if they didn't think of something soon they wouldn't last much longer... Another cliff appeared ahead, the waters of the nile coming closer and closer as they ducked behind and under the next overhang. "We need a plan," he muttered with a swallow, looking back at the stone dragons as they continued their search with faint growls. "The third-tier spell won't work if what Ren-kun said is any sign, and your second tier ones are having no effect..."

"Hey," Ren muttered, still grumbling about the stomach pains, "Sorry for having limits..."

"We're not blaming you," Anzu told the snake.

"A-huh..."

"Ah- Really! We're not!" Yugi shouted hurriedly, hands up in slight defense as the snake scowled. "I didn't mean anything like that! I'm just saying we need a plan!"

"Well... If you think of something, let me know alright?" Anzu said weakly, giving the boy a worried smile as she peered back over the cliff's edge again. "Because unless you can tell me a way to take down a mountain, I'm stuck..."

"Hah... Well, in our defense," her partner laughed, managing to coil around a few strands of hair, "I'm pretty sure most people in this situation would be just as stuck. Heck, since when do mountains even move like that?" he continued, shaking his head as Anzu shrugged. That was a good point, Yugi thought to himself, there was probably not a single monster in existence that was...

That... Big...

Hold on now...

"Ah..." The boy's eyes slowly widened, and as he stood the others frowned. "I... I think I have an idea!" he told them, a grin coming over him as he looked around the cliff, staring at the moving dragons. "There's a game I played before... 'Wander and the Colossus," he continued, the grin widening as he recalled the game. "As the main character the goal is to defeat the sixteen colossi, some of which are almost 250 meters long! Normally," he admitted with a nervous cough, "I wouldn't have compared it to this but..." He paused, pulling his boomerang from his back as he swallowed. "The main character has only a sword to kill the monsters; and even then, he can't wield it properly... The strategy to take them down involved finding and reaching their 'weak points', climbing up the monsters to do so," he explained. "So... If we can get on the backs of these things," Yugi went on, trailing off as the others stared. "Well..."

"Then... We might actually stand a chance," Anzu whispered, before biting her lip. "But Yugi... I don't have anything to store this staff in," she muttered. "Moreover," the woman continued with a gesture, "These robes aren't exactly roomy enough to climb in..." Ah... That was true but-

"Well, there's still a matter of getting close enough to climb up anyways," his other self muttered, the boy blinking in response. That was...

He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck as an idea formed. Ohhh... This wasn't going to come out easy... "Erm... Anzu?" he asked, his friend turning from where she'd been keeping an eye out for the enormous beasts. "About that... I actually had an idea and-"

The snake evidently caught the idea much quicker than his partner, immediately flaring his hood as the boy trailed off awkwardly. "Heyyyy... Hey, you better not be about to say what I think you are!" he spat. "I'm not going for this!” Erm...

Yes. Yes well, he probably was if Anzu agreed, but that was beside the point. "Well... I need to climb up the monster's back," he explained, still holding the boomerang in one of his hands. "And while I didn't want to ask you of this," the boy continued with a cough, "It would probably be better than waiting for one of these things to attack..."

Anzu stared, blinking a few times as she ran the words through her head. "You... You want me to be a distraction?" she asked incredulously, her friend wincing in response.

"Eh... W-Well," he choked, stepping back as he flushed, "I just thought..."

The woman nodded, standing up and giving her staff a twirl as her friend blinked. "Alright!"

...Alright?

He stared, watching as his friend seemed to flip her mood around completely before preparing to hop the cliff. "Make sure you're quick though?" she warned, the snake on her wrist seemingly collapsing in disdain and grief both. "I only have enough magic for five attacks," she continued, "And after that there's no telling what will happen!" Five attacks...

Alright. "Got it!" The boy sheathed his weapon again, flushing somewhat as he pulled up the resolve to go through with his plan. "Let's go..!"

"Right... HAIL STORM!" Anzu roared as she hopped over the small rock wall, the pair of dragons easily spotting her black robes among the sand. "Come and get me!" she shouted with slight unease, "You sorry excuse for mountains!"

The dragons appeared to turn to each other at this, Ren shaking his head with a sigh. "Weak," her partner muttered, "Weak..."

"NOT NOW!" the woman spat, turning and bolting as the insult proved effective enough to gain their full attention. With the monsters eagerly chasing after Anzu their attentions were drawn away completely from Yugi, the boy hopping out of the hiding place and staring at the field through his goggles. Alright then...

The boy hurriedly broke into a sprint, running against the sanded ground as dust flew out behind him and behind the monster's both. The first dragon's tail was dragging through the sand, leaving behind it a miniature canyon that he now struggled to keep from falling into. At the back of the monster's neck however he could see it, shimmering slightly amid the monster's manufactured storm. A crack in the armor, a small niche he could use...

" _You won't be able to throw the boomerang into that spot_ ," his other self muttered, Yugi nodding as he picked up speed to chase down the beast. " _We're going to have to run to it; regardless of its awareness_!" Got it!

The boy pushed off from a nearby stone ruin, grabbing at the rocky hide of the beast as it gave a shocked roar in response. "Gh!" The tail he clung to swung violently as he held on, teeth grinding as he heard a shout-

"HAILSTORM," he could hear her cry, a frosted gale blasting by the stones as the dragon was momentarily distracted. This was his chance.

A third 'Hail Storm' was released as the second wore off, Yugi stumbling and charging up the enormous creature's back. A fourth one was formed, and he passed the hips stumbling toward wings... A fifth, and he'd made it to the dragon's neck...

Ice filled the ground only to melt almost immediately, and as he reached the niche in the stone the dragon turned its attentions back to the boy to rear on its legs and knock his footing out violently.

" _GRAAAOOO... RAAAAAAOOOOOOOHHH_!"

"Gnh..! Hah... GHAA!" Yugi's first hand was torn from its grip, dangling almost limply as he attempted to grab his boomerang with the arm. Come on he told himself, the third dragon still chasing after Anzu as she screamed. He needed to get it into this slot, come on...

Fingers wrapped around the handle of the blade, and with a triumphant shout he pulled it free before driving it through the crack in the stone. "HAH! HRAAAAAHH!"

"Ghn-!" The monster stumbled, tripping somewhat as Yugi tore the blade free from it's spine. "Rooooo... Roaaa _aaaaaooooo_..." Please... Please let that have worked, ple-

"HAAAAAHHH!" Sand blew in a violent wave from the beast as it collapsed, Yugi holding on for his life as the monster's corpse took a fully stone form. Sliding down the side of the stone it was easy to reach the ground safely... But as he looked forward to the final dragon he found himself paling, looking to where it had finally cornered its target. Anzu was directly below it's head, trapped by stone ruins...

The dragon's maw was hanging open, now charging a blast of sand and dust, concentrated to a paint-peeling attack that would easily reduce the woman into mere ashes. That attack...

"No!" he shouted, running forward with wide eyes as panic rose. "No... NO!" He couldn't-

" _NO! ANZU_!" the other Yugi cried, reactions merging with his lighter half as he screamed. " _ANZU_! ANZU!"

A switch...

The other Yugi didn't bother to wonder why it had worked this time, continuing to charge toward the dragon as it loomed above his friend. "ANZU!"

At that moment a remarkable thing happened. The dragon could have fired that attack. It could have destroyed Anzu and moved onto him, and yet it instead closed its great mouth and turned to look toward the boy approaching it. It turned its tail, folded its wings back and stared in what appeared to be both shock and awe.

For a brief moment Yugi found himself frozen, fierce glare widening into a look of fear rather than the usual shine of determination it held. The dragon was huge after all. And it radiated with power, the land itself seeming to react to its will. And yet as if to complicate things further the dragon lowered itself before the boy, laying its head on its forelegs as it closed its eyes...

And bowed.

" **Young King of the Black Lands** ," the dragon rumbled, rising to stand on its haunches as Yugi slowly came to Anzu's side in shock. " **I have waited long to see your face** ," it muttered loudly, " **But alas, it is not yet time for us to meet...** " What...

The dragon... This thing of such power had just...

"And you said that this was Jonouchi's head, right?" Anzu asked yet again, Yugi merely nodding slowly as he stared up at the monster. Yes... Yes he had...

And for some reason this only cemented that fact, despite things making no sense at all. "Ohhhh geeze," Ren was whispering, shrinking back against his partner's neck with a swallow. "Ohhhh hell, I know what this is and this is not... Ohhhh..."

"What... What is it then?" Anzu hissed to the serpent, not taking her eyes from the dragon, "What-"

" **We** ," the dragon announced, " **Are those of the long forgotten past, those whose final remains are but a strained bloodline from our descendants... We are the guardians of Time, of Light, and of Peace,** " the beast continued, those below staring up in awe. " **But as to our full identities it is not yet time to say, much as our appearance to the ones who bear OUR blood is not yet to come...** " Their...

Their blood? " _What does he mean by that?_ " the lighter Yugi asked, his darker side shaking his head in response. " _What..._ "

"Who?" Yugi called out, swallowing a slight wave of unease. "Whose blood are you talking about!"

The monster before them shook his head, great wings spread wide to block out the sun. " **Do not fear ... All will be revealed in time young ones,** " the dragon rumbled, cliffs and stones seeming to arise to reform the initial pair that had been defeated moments before. " **But for now** ," it continued calmly, " **We will grant you passage to our guardian's present location, provided you fulfil our request**."

"Request?" Anzu repeated, answered by the dragon that had just moments ago been swallowed by her familiar. "What do you mean?"

" **As my brother has told you,** " the first dragon began, " **It is not yet time for our presence to be known. We are mere shades of our former selves,** " 'she' continued, " **Carried through time by the bloods of those we gave rise to. Our true spirits lie elsewhere,** " it explained, tone tinged with a tone of sorrow. " **And they are hidden in the realms far beyond your own.** "

" **For that reason, we must ask that you hold your tongues in regards to our beings** ," the second asked, bowing its head as it came to all fours before the three. " **That you allow more time for people to 'heal' before old wounds are re-opened.** "

"Old wounds?" Yugi questioned, narrowing his eyes. "But what to you mean, 'old wounds'!"

The dragons merely crouched down alongside each other, forming a ring of cliffs as the one in the center opened a clawed fist to reveal a doorway. " **You will know when the time comes,** " they whispered, growing motionless as a desert breeze passed by, the cracking and rumbling of stone slowly coming to a stop. " **Until then, we wish you luck, 'til next we meet...** "

And as the breeze blew again the desert was filled with silence, leaving Yugi and Anzu both to turn to each other as they considered the message they'd been given. 'Ancient beings'... 'Ancient blood' even, he noted in his mind, slowly turning back to the cave in front of them. It was strange...

So horribly strange, and looking at the cave now he realized that the carvings were not even Egyptian in origin. It was some other language, completely foreign to him. But as they walked into the tunnel, it seemed that all three of them agreed on one thing; this secret would be safe with them, no matter what...

Even if, past the blinding light that graced them at the end of the spiralling stair case of the cavern, Jonouchi stood beyond the door they passed just now.

"A-Ah..!" And conveniently enough...

He did.

"Jonouchi!" Yugi shouted, running forward as they entered the smog covered, blackened haze. He coughed, freezing in place as he took in the scenery. Mountains made of sharpened knives loomed around and behind them. Beyond the edge of the cliff they stood at lay fields of boiling oil and water, filled with falling stones. And even further lay a barren wasteland of blue ice, above all of which a thick series of poisonous looking storm clouds hovered. "Gh... Jonouchi!" Yugi found himself asking, bringing a hand to his face as he removed his goggles. "Where is this?"

Jonouchi appeared to only just notice the three, and as he followed his friend's gaze to the others, it seemed that they were having similar reactions as opposed to the blond's apparent indifference in the matter. "Gh... Shit..! It smells worse than a crypt," Ren wheezed, his partner covering her nose with her robes. The serpent's tongue instantly stopped flickering, sitting rather prominently between his teeth as he continued to grumble. "I thwar tu gawd!" he snarled, lisping almost amusingly as the others plugged their noses, "I'm noth bwinging thith tongue back in mah mouwf!"

"You'd better hold it then, because that lisp is already grating my nerves," Anzu could be heard muttering, waving a hand in her face as she came forward. "Gh... God, it's worse than a sewage drain..."

Jonouchi gave the others a sympathetic smile, straightening himself from his formerly weakened and hunched position. If they looked close it looked almost as though he'd managed to shave his back off... In fact Ren himself was holding his tongue at the sight, only shaking himself off as the blond turned to face them.

"Yeah... Hahaha! Welcome t' 'hell'," he laughed, scratching his head. "An' I really do mean 'hell'," he added seriously, coughing as the sound of a gavel came from above this.

"Hn! What is this?" the judge snarled, having somehow created the sound without a single thing in hand. The others turned, Jonouchi rolling his eyes as the man continued to complain. "What are you two doing here? This area is supposed to be impenetrable!"

"Yeah well it looks like it ain't, y' creep!" The blond again rolled his eyes, adjusting the grip on his staff with a scowl. "Sheesh... You see this guy here?" he snorted, turning back to the others as he jammed a thumb in the man's direction. "Firs' he spends 's livin' life tryin' t' boot me out an now he's tryin' t' kill me! Th' nerve righ'?"

"J-Jonouchi," Anzu laughed, rubbing her head. "Is this really the time for..."

Yugi as well seemed to stare at the blond awkwardly for a moment, eventually clearing his throat and finding something else to say. "Well... It's good to see you're alright..."

"I'll say," He shouted back with a grin, free hand giving the group a beaming thumbs up from the flaming cloak. "'F course I am! You think I'm gonna let somethin' like this take me down?" he continued, adjusting the staff in his hands. "Jus' watch," Jonouchi muttered, renewing a battler's stance as smog furled around his smoking cloak, "I'm abou' t' slaughter this guy!"

"Tch! Believe what you like!" his opponent called from above, "But your friends are going to have no part in it! TO THE SIDE WITH THEM!" he roared, great and monstrous arms grasping the pair from behind, "And be sure they can watch as their friend tastes defeat!"

"Gh- What the-!" Yugi shouted, large and blue tinged arms snatching him below the neck as he was pulled off the ground.

"H-Hey," Anzu screamed with him, pulling at the demonic creature who now held her by the throat, "Let me go! Let me- Ah... Ahhh..."

The face of the monster looked down as the woman cut off, Yugi himself looking up at his captor with a swallow as well. Demons were one thing- perhaps they were even expected. But the faces of the ones holding them now were that of a horse and an ox, with large tusks and dead eyes. True, they were masks; but even looking at the wooden faces one could tell that the images beneath them would be worse. And as it was the masks were more than enough to instill fear in him as his lighter half's mind connected the dots. "N-Niu-Tou and Ma Mian... Ox-Head and Horse-Face! Guardians to the gates of hell!"

"G-Ghh... Heww gwadianth! Wha tha heww ith wong with tha Athian mytholowogy thythem!" Ren hissed, half of his body quite firmly crushed in Niu-Tou's grasp as he continued with his lisping attempts at avoiding the realm's scent. "Thewiouthly!"

Ahead of them on the field their friend turned, eyes wide as he turned to look back to his opponent. "O-Oi... OKA! LET 'M GO!" Jonouchi roared, the others merely gritting their teeth at the strain being put on their arms. "C'mon, they don' have anythin' t' do wi' this match!"

"Hn! Regardless of what they have to do with anything, you'd better win!" his opponent cackled, sounding almost goat like as he did so. "Because otherwise you'll find they have everything to do with what happens afterwards!"

The demons tightened their grip with these words, Yugi wheezing as his air was mostly cut off. Oka continued to chuckle at the sight, his opponent's nails digging into his palms as he looked back upward in rage.

"Hehehehehe... It's still my turn... Prepare to face true hell!" he announced, the holy elf at his side bowing her head in agreement. "I summon 'Curtain of the Dark Ones'," Oka began as the furling cloak blew forward in the wind, "And then, using Polymerization, fuse it with my Elf... Behold!" the judge shouted, gesturing forward as his opponent swallowed. As the swirling clouds shrouded the monsters from view, lowering to the ground before him to reveal a menacing masked grin and a scythe-like axe... "The chaos wizard, 'Kamion'!"

"Gh..." He didn't know what it was that Jonouchi had at his defense with no monsters on the field.

But given the look on his face now, it was safe to say they were in trouble.

All of them.

* * *

When Oka had said 'polymerization', he'd gotten hopeful. Fusion monsters were more often than not powerful after all, which would mean matching the minimum power needed to fall into his trap. Heck, '1500' wasn't even that high compared to a lot of monsters now. However when Kamion came to the field, spinning a wicked looking 'axe' in his hands whilst staring through a smiling psycho's mask, the blond had to pale. A monster needed at least 1500 points to fall for his trap.

Kamion only had 1300. And with the judge far up in the air and out of reach, it was safe to say he'd be going through this guy before anything happened... At all.

Provided he could get past the damn axe in the wizard's two hands.

"In addition to summoning this monster," his opponent was shouting, either ignoring or relishing in the blond's unease, "I play the spell 'Sinister Justice', while setting yet another card face down... Following that!" he roared as the spell took effect, "I attack directly! GO, KAMION!" The only sound in response was the 'swoosh' of the air as the blade swiped against emptiness, Katsuya hurriedly dodging the strikes as the former elf charged.

"H-Hah! Ah- Gh-!" Jump, duck, swerve, duck, the blade cut fragments of hair and fabric both as he barely avoided each hit, before finally with a fifth strike he found himself blocking the blade against his staff. With wood however the blade was barely held at bay, slowly being pushed back with a wince. "Gh.. Like... Hell... Yer beatin'... Me..!"

"Jonouchi!" he could hear someone shout, before being thrown roughly back by the force of the blade he blocked. "JONOUCHI!" Anzu screamed, "WATCH FOR THE-"

"Gh- GR _HAAAAACH_!" As with before a dozen or more knives dug into his back, blood dripping and spurting from his mouth as ordinarily fatal wounds reaped another portion of his lifepoints. The blond stumbled forward as he pulled off the knives, falling against his staff with pained coughs as his back burned and scarred the wounds sustained. "Gh... Fucking rat... You..."

"Jonouchi!" the 'other' Yugi shouted from the side, Katsuya clutching the bleeding wound he'd sustained as he looked to the boy. Before, he'd been wondering why the other Yugi was there... Now...

Well, it probably wasn't that important right now.

"That card adds 800 lifepoints to its owner during a successful attack!" he called out, blood draining from the blond's face as he pulled himself to his feet. "Be careful!" 800...

The lawyer had 1000 points again! "Oh you're kiddin' me," he hissed, before ducking under another strike from the Kamion wizard as it cackled. This guy was getting healed up for this? "D-Damn it!" He needed 'help'! A card appeared in his mind, before escaping it through a pile of rising dust on the ground. "Summon th' Panther Warrior an' set a card!" he roared, rolling to the side as the Wizard's sights moved to his now summoned monster. Please work please work please work he chanted in his head, the black leopard standing tall before him with his blade ready. Please please pleaaaaaase...

"I suppose it's my turn then," Oka was muttering, his opponent merely wincing as he attempted to get over his wounds. "Then for my move, I'll play this; Leading Question!" the demon announced, the Wizard's curved and cruel blade appearing to glow as it approached both the panther and Katsuya both. "Increasing all level 4 or lower fusion monster's power by 800 during the battle phase!" W-

Was he serious!

"NOW ATTACK!" But that meant he couldn't use his trap!

"Aggggghhhh... Shit! Act'vate trap!" he shouted, pointing his staff forward as a smoked, red imp appeared from the top. "Skull Dice!" The imp soared forward, the monsters before him clashing blades in a slightly one-sided brawl as he did so.

" _Hehehehehe!_ " With a malevolent chuckle the imp threw his die, both battling monsters ahead freezing as their attacks were interrupted. " _Dice Roll_!" it called, the block falling between them. And with luck...

The die clattered to the ground, Katsuya grinning as the result appeared in his mind. "A-AH! Six!" he called with a grin, only to pale as the number on his 'screen' plummeted. Now hang on, what? The die ahead spun viciously on itself, clattering to an abrupt stop as the imp it came with vanished into a pile of ash. No... No no no... "W... ONE!?" he roared, before ducking a spray of blood as his Panther was cut in two. The two halves scattered into pixels and dust both, and as the Kamion wizard charged he found himself rolling out from under anther strike. 1800 now... "FUCK!"

"Hey, Dyonouthi!" a lisping voice snarled from the side, "Yu going thoo do thomthing uthfull?" That voice... Who...

Katsuya turned, gritting his teeth as his eyes met with a small gold snake. Oh- so that was who it was. "Gh- Shut up!" he responded, before fleeing another strike. "Do I even know you?"

"Probably not!" came Anzu's own ragged and strained response, whatever words that followed drowned out by clashing metal as Katsuya ducked under yet another strike. A small break was earned as the monster's blade became embedded into the dagger ridden mountains at the side, the blond running as far from it as possible with grit teeth. Hah... Hah...

He turned toward the others, swallowing as the two continued speaking. "Gh... Jonouchi!" Yugi shouted, "I hate to say this, but he's right... You need to do something!"

"And fast!" Anzu screamed, the blond in question gritting his teeth.

"Hnnnngg... I'm thinkin' damn it!" He was thinking but there wasn't much coming into view right now!

"Hehehehehehehe..." Oka's bleating laughs echoed through the air, Katsuya leering up at the demon's 'cloud cover' as a growl developed in his throat. "Is something wrong?" the demon sneered, tusked grin in place as Katsuya shook. "Perhaps you shouldn't have abused your ability so much... Maybe then you'd have been spared all of this!" he laughed, receiving aggravated growls in response. Tch...

"Bastard..!" It was his turn again. He could at least take solace in that while his opponent's pawn was stuck. A card appeared in the back of his mind for the draw, the blond swallowing nervously as it appeared on the screen as well. 'Graceful Dice'... So he had a second shot at this then, he told himself. He could power up a monster and keep moving. "I summon th' Swordsman 'f Landstar!" he announced, pointing his staff forward as the Kamion Wizard freed his weapon to turn toward them. The rotted mush rose and took form, the alien-like warrior spinning his blade with a shout as he blocked a sudden strike from the Wizard. "An' then, I play th' spell 'Graceful Dice'!" Now...

Before Kamion overpowered Landstar, and before Landstar was sacrificed...

"ROLL TH' DIE!" he shouted, the tiny angel that appeared doing so with a nod. The angel soared upward and threw the die...

The die spun, tumbled through the air and bounced off the ground before clattering to a stop. And for just a moment, a grin appeared on his face.

But once again, he was wrong.

The die spun once more, as though possessed by some other thing. It clattered to the ground a second time before coming to a stop, and with wide eyes Katsuya's face plummeted in horror. One...

Another one... "He lost again!" Anzu shouted from the side, eyes wide. "He..."

"Twice... Twice in a row," Yugi muttered, his friend merely standing in terror as the Kaimon wizard approached.

"How... How th' HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE!" he cried, only for his question to be drowned out by the judge's cries from above.

"DEATH SENTENCE!" the demon roared, sacrificing 1000 of his 1800 to repeat his tactic of clearing the field.

Crap. "GH _AAAAAAH!_ " The wave of dust that had formed his newly created monster blasted Katsuya hard in the stomach as the beast exploded, sending him skidding on his back to the edge of the barren cliffs of the underworld as he choked. Weak hands grasped at the clifftop and staff both as he skidded off the side, choking as he attempted to pull himself upward. "G-...Ghnng..." Sand stuck to his robes where the blood had stained them. And inside the wound the 'sand', which looking now appeared to be the dust of rotted remains, was sending sharp stinging pains through his body. But it was still his turn...

It was still his turn...

And although Kamion was walking toward him in no hurry, he at least had a slight defense at his side...

"Gnhg... I set two cards," he rasped, the shimmering 'glass' almost creating a shield before him as he clambered onto the field again. "An' I end my turn..." His last chance. This was his last gamble, his last...

His last chance.

The cloud above turned somewhat, Oka smirking wickedly from his 'throne' of smoke and fog. "So then it's my turn!" he laughed, a cloud of smoke misting in his hands as he held up a card toward the blond. Ehh... That card was... "You see this?" he called down, his opponent looking up weakly with narrowed eyes. Ah... Pot of Greed. That card... "You want this card, don't you?" the demon taunted, receiving no further response from the blond as Katsuya stared. "Hnhnhnhn... I play 'Pot of Greed'," he called out, the card evaporating into mist as its results remained hidden completely. "Pity you couldn't use it yourself, with no cards in your hand," the lawyer continue to taunt, chuckling darkly. "I imagine it would have helped..." Hn!

"Not as much as your move jus' helped me," he muttered, smirking as the judge stared in confusion. The smirk grew, and as Katsuya held his hand out the first of his glassy 'face down cards' shimmered into reality. "Act'vate my trap, 'Gamble'!" he announced, narrowing his eyes. "You got six cards in yer hand now righ'? Well lets even the score! I'm gonna flip a coin," the blond continued, snatching at the air as one such coin appeared before him, "An 'f I call it right, I draw five cards!" And if he got it wrong...

He'd rather not think about that, given how much each move counted.

Oka merely continued to stare from above however, Katsuya gripping the oddly carved bit of gold in his fingers tightly. Here went nothing... One side was engraved with a circular design, the other with the head of an eagle. 'Goddess of Luck'...

Don't fail him now! The coin was tossed high into the air as it flipped side over side, the blond snatching it once more from the air as he closed his eyes. "Alrigh'," he whispered, before slapping it over on his palm with a swallow. "I'm callin' HEADS!" With those words he opened his eyes again, only to feel his blood run cold as the flames on his cloak blew down to an ashen state. "Oh hell..."

The circle side. He could have sworn he'd felt the eagle's side and yet...

"No... No, he loth AGAEN!" Anzu's snake roared, tongue still firmly viced between his teeth as it thrashed in anger. "WHA ITH THITH BU-THIT! WHATH WONG WITH YU BATHTARDTH?"

...Could _anyone_ tell what the damn snake was saying?

"Hehehehehe..." Gh..! Chuckling echoed over the snake's snarls, Katsuya looking up at the source with shadowed eyes. "All three gambles, and you've lost them... Hehehehe..." Oka grinned from above, his personal monster looking onward with a sneering mask as Katsuya swallowed. "What bad luck you must have!" Gh... Bastard...

"Damn it damn it damn it..." No choice! "Act'vate th' spell 'SCAPEGOAT'!" he hurriedly shouted, waving the staff in his hands as four great woollen sheep came to his defense from the smoke and clouds around them. "End turn!"

"Hehehe... How awkward you are when you're in a bind!" Awkward? Come on... "It's almost pathetically amusing," the demon chuckled, ignoring the growls from below. "I'm not done my turn just yet though... First, 'Reinforcement of the Army'," he called out, "Adding a level 4 or lower warrior monster to my hand." A breeze passed as the shimmering panel vanished, effects unseen as Oka continued to speak. "Next," he announced, "I'll activate polymerization... Taking both this monster and the 'One-Eyed Wicked Knight' from my hand to fusion summon this! Dragoness!" he roared as the thundering portal appeared, "The Wicked Knight!"

The spiralling portal behind Oka swirled into dust on the ground, a spear wielding warrior pulling himself forward with narrowed eyes. It was strange- it looked almost like Seto's 'Lord of D', the bone lined spear sitting with one end buried deep in the ground with near identically rimmed armor meeting Katsuya's eyes. And yet the look in this monster's eyes, despite it being a program, seemed more...

Menacing...

And as the orders to attack were given he found himself blown with more and more force with the threat of falling off the edge, his missed turn making his scapegoats completely useless. As it was the blows left him on his back and at the cliff's edge, Katsuya's neck held upward by a spear and an axe both...

With Oka himself lowering the cloud he stood upon to come forward and laugh. "Hehehehehe... You should have known that the winner of this match would be decided at the end and not the start," he chuckled, his opponent gritting his teeth as the two monsters 'grinned' above him. "And by this point," Oka chuckled, "I would say we're there. No monsters... No spells... You have nothing to protect you," he laughed almost madly, "Nothing at all..!" Gh... Hng...

"Come on!" Anzu shouted from the side, pulling at her holds with narrowed eyes. "You have one turn left, there has to be something!"

"YEA, WE'WR GONNA GE' EATHEN IFTH YOU DON'TH DO THOMTHING!" the snake how the monster holding his partner giving an odd 'slurping' noise in response.

"Not helping," Yugi muttered to the snake, Katsuya closing his eyes as the shouts persisted. Damn it... Damn it!

Stop shouting! Sure he had one move, but there wasn't a card in his deck that could turn this around right now, not with his luck going down the drain! Nothing, not even...

Even...

" _Don't be so sure of defeat_ ," the spirit in his mind muttered, his friend opening his eyes with a start. " _In fact,_ " he continued with a grin, " _If I were you, I'd hold on for just a moment longer..._ " Hold on? With a voice like that, it seemed almost as though he knew something would-

"This duel is invalid," a monotone voice stated, those on the field turning with a start. Shimmering light was filling the air, and from above white wings spread wide to reveal the mold ridden plain in full reddish flesh colour. And at the center of that light, with pale skin and hair was Seraph. He...

The Seraph program was- It was still alive! "Y-You!" Oka muttered, taking a step closer with wide eyes as he left the cloud beside him. "You're one of Noa-sama's programs! By why wouldn't he have told me!" he roared, Seraph not bothering to look at the man. "Why-"

"This duel is invalid," Seraph repeated dully, the others still staring in shock. "Oka Chikuzen-san; you have been found guilty of cheating... As a result," he explained monotonously, "This duel is unable to continue."

"Cheating..." The two monsters at his front slowly stepped back in silence, Katsuya shaking his head as he looked toward his opponent. "You were... Cheating?"

Seraph nodded, eyes still seemingly glazed as he explained further. "That is correct; from the beginning of this duel," he told them, Kastuya pulling himself to his feet with a look of incredulity, "Your opponent has been fixing each randomly generated card effect in his favor." Randomly g-

"You... You were riggin' my rolls!" he roared, lunging at the Judge only to be held back by the two monsters as he snarled. "BASTARD! All those attacks an you were CHEATIN'!"

Oka seemed to ignore the angered shouts, instead looking to Seraph with a stubborn scowl. "You... But this was a part of my plan, I needed this to work!" he protested. "It's just a game of cards, what harm could possibly lie in this, you must understand! There's nothing wrong with-"

"You _fool_ ," hissed a familiar voice, Noa's form now appearing beside Seraph in a mist. The boy was more than obviously upset, eyes revealing a glimmer of rage and madness both as he looked down upon his 'tool'. "You dare to argue against my words? If you wish to surpass the head of Kaiba-Corp, to reach your goals," the boy snarled darkly, "Then you need to defeat those beneath that person as well! If you can't face this boy in a fair battle then what hope could you possibly have against Seto?" he spat, the demonic judge pulling back with a wince.

Oka continued to pale, white eyes staring upward in horror. "H-Hng... I... ...I..." Heh...

So luck was on his side after all was it... "Oka Chikuzen," Seraph announced dully, looking down at the man with no visible emotion as Katsuya calmed to a slight extent. "Due to your attempts to falsify the true results of this match," the program explained dully, "You are ordered to take responsibility for your actions. Consider yourself 'defeated'," he continued, holding a hand out in a deceptively passive gesture. "As such, Jonouchi Katsuya wins this match."

The demon paled even further if it was possible, eyes widening as he shook his head. "H-Hah... P-Please!" Oka shouted, the others staring as the normally calm man began to beg. "Please, Noa-sama! Give me one more chance..!"

"Hnhnhnhn... Oka... You lost that chance with the 'Skull Dice'," Noa stated with a grin, Katsuya swallowing. "You should have known better..." Yeah, he really should have...

But regardless, he didn't want to win like this. "...Hold on a sec'!" he shouted, the two above them turning as Katsuya began to speak. "...Let me finish th' match first," he continued, Noa raising his eyebrows in response.

"You... You want to fight even after all of that?" The blond nodded, Noa seeming to stare in confusion as they stared at each other. "...Why?" he asked bluntly, narrowing his eyes.

Katsuya merely smirked, bloodied hands taking his staff from the ground as he smirked. "Heh- It's obvious isn' it? What's done 's done after all... An it ain't like there's no cheatin' in gambling," he shouted, laughing somewhat despite the grievous wounds on his back. "A battle like this needs to be taken seriously," he continued, "It isn' somethin' you can jus' cut b'fore th' end. You'll step in if he tries t' cheat again... So let me take my next move, alrigh'?" he asked, his opponent blinking in a similar vein of confusion as his 'friends' sighed.

At this Noa appeared even more confused, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. However after a few moments he merely smirked, shaking his head. "Hn! Eager to die are we? Very well!" he shouted, snapping his fingers as Oka's 'cloud' vanished to dust to leave the demon stranded. "If you wish to throw away your largest chance of a win, then so be it. Until then," he continued, chuckling as both himself and Seraph began to disappear into fragments of pixels. "Sayounara, Katsuya..." Katsu-

"G-Gh..." That voice... That same voice, he'd heard it in the game!

"Tch..." Katsuya's attention was pulled back to his opponent as the brilliant light faded, growling coming from the demon before him. "To think you would make such a foolish decision," Oka spat, turning on the boy before him with narrowed white eyes. Now that he stood on the ground his size was far greater than predicted, the judge easily standing at three times his height. And even though there was no weapon in his hands, it was still clear that the match up was not going to go well. "Heh... You just traded my name on a death certificate with your own... I'm almost tempted to thank you..."

Really now? The blond snorted, narrowing his eyes despite the towering threat before him. "Heh... We'll jus' see abou' that- Luck hasn' abandoned me yet, an' I know tha' now," he said with a grin, spinning the staff in his hand as he pulled up the 'card' screen. "So les' see... It was my turn, wasn' it?" Katsuya asked with a grin, Oka grinding his teeth somewhat from across him. "Then allow me t' take it! R'member th's card?” he asked, tapping the staff end on the ground as a pot arose to his side.

"...Hn... The pot of greed... How convenient for you," the Judgeman muttered, his opponent merely grinning as the spell took effect.

"Got tha' right," he responded with a smirk. "An th' draw I got ain't half bad either," he added, the pot vanishing as two cards appeared in his 'hand'. With cards like these he knew exactly what he was doing next... Heh! "Here goes! I'm fightin' w' myself from here on out!" he roared, a vicious gale erupting about him as sand and dust blew around him in a spiral. The lands appeared to melt and bend to his very will and mind as the demon across him stared with narrowed eyes. Sand replaced swamped piles of rot... Dunes and cliffs took the place of bladed mountains, and despite all this he continued on without even missing a beat. "T' help wi' that move, I'm equipin' myself wi' th's! Th' cursed blade... Th' Burnin' Soul!" he snarled, the staff in his hands glowing with dull heat as the sands around them were blown back by a wave of energy.

"Gh... Burning soul?" The judgeman scoffed, shaking his head. "Hah! That card's useless without a tribute," the man sneered, "You don't stand a chance!" Oh really now?

"That what y' think?" he continued to shout, golden sands of a whitish and moonlit hue coloured eerily in the fire-light of his cloak. "You think I'm done? Think again!" the blond roared. "Thi's th' card I added t' my deck b'fore!" Katsuya announced, holding a hand out as the winds howled about them, dust flying into a central location before it. "Ardous Decision! I've drawn two cards just now," he snarled, "An' yer gonna pick one... If it's a monster," the blond explained, "I special summon it t' the field, an you lose... If it's a spell," he continued, "I d'scard both, an you win! So here are your choices," Katsuya announced, Oka shielding his eyes from the sand blowing forth as he leered at the boy. "Goblin Attack Force, or 'Shield and Sword'... One monster," he announced, shimmering 'two way' panel appearing at his side, "An' one spell," he finished, a second appearing to his left. "Make yer move... Left, or right?"

Oka seemed to freeze with the decision, mouth hanging open somewhat as he held back his words. After all; he was used to asking the questions himself, and creating situations with only one possible answer. Not something that relied entirely on chance, and luck. "You... I..."

Come on, Katsuya told himself as he held a blank expression. This was still 50/50, but if he pulled this right he'd get it no matter what. Oka was cautious... But easily fooled when it came to things like this, he knew that! If he'd just make his choice...

"Th... That one!" the demon called out, pointing toward the spell card. "The one on the left!"

"Oh? This one?" Katsuya asked, the winds settling momentarily as the choice was considered. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, receiving a nod in response. "Really?" he repeated with raised eyebrows, "You're sure?"

The demon glowered, fists clenched. "Tch- I know this strategy all too well!" he snarled, his opponent barely able to read the nervousness in the lawyer's blank eyes. "Trying to fool me into picking the 'other one'... Well it won't work!" he spat, others on the field holding silent as they watched the final move unfold. "I won't fall for such a-"

Oka fell silent, only just noticing the look on his opponent's face. Hidden beneath his hair, just barely visible, a smirk...

A slight quiver coming from a chuckle, the speed of wind intensifying...

"Gh... I pick the one on the right!" he shouted, eyes widening with fear. "That's my final decision! The one on the right!"

"This one then?" the blond asked, the spell card on the left vanishing without a trace. Within an instant the panel turned around, a horde of goblins arising from pillars of sand to stand by their summoner as Oka paled. "Hehehehe... Too bad," Katsuya shouted, shaking his head with a menacing grin. "You picked th' wrong card!"

"Gh- Impossible," Oka muttered, "The mon-"

"Tha's right! An' now I tribute that monster t' activate th' 'Burning Soul'!" he roared, sands appearing to pull toward him as the winds picked up in intensity. The goblins disintegrated into dust, whirling about him rapidly as the blond gripped the staff in both hands. Power was gathering. Heat, energy, wind... "All 2300 attack points are added to my own power!" Katsuya announced through the howling winds, "And with that I'm ending this now! TAKE THIS OKA!" he roared, staff glowing white hot as he slammed the end down on the ground, "THE BURNING SOUL!"

With a sound similar to a sonic boom a wave of darkness and sand blasted forward, Katsuya's strike sending a single crater-like ripple through the desert as a result. Winds scattered away from him as the wave sliced through each monster, cutting and destroying Kamion and Dragoness both before moving onto Oka within mere milliseconds. For a brief moment, the blond's eyes glowed a fierce red... And though the sand swirled in the air to create almost a curtain, his flamed cloak remained unaffected, billowing in a wind that had already passed. And as the sands cleared, the damage could be seen. The first two corpses were gone...

Oka however had fallen to his knees, arms held limply at his side. "How," Oka rasped, blood spurting from his wounds as he fell forward. "I was a master at seeing through those strategies," he choked as his blood stained the desert sands, "How could I lose to a- ..."

Child? The wind died down as Katsuya let out a sigh, flames vanishing back to the cloak's red wool as the heat in his body as well cooled. Oka died before his words could even be finished, blood staining the sanded fields of his 'past memories'. But while that was all fine, and while the demons holding Yugi and Anzu vanished into dust and locusts to the shock and surprise of the captives, there was more to deal with.

"Noa..." That 'boy'...

Hell, if he was still alive he'd be of drinking age! No way someone connected to a computer for that long could be considered 'some kid'. No... This guy was dangerous.

"Where'd tha' brat run off to this time," he muttered, walking toward the others as he looked to the side. They needed to find this kid... Something the others agreed with it seemed.

"Knowing him he's likely preparing the next duel," Yugi muttered, crossing his arms. "He seems to be setting these up chronologically, at least that's how it's worked so far." The next duel hadn't started yet then. Hnnn...

"There's only two members 'f th' Big 5 left if you guys 'r here," the blond added with a frown, narrowing his eyes in thought. "So who's fightin' who..."

"Well... Chances are, Kaiba's one of them," Anzu muttered, crossing her arms as her snake nodded in agreement. "That leaves Otogi, Honda, Mokuba, and Shiz-"

"Shizuka..." The pair looked up, watching as their friend paled and bolted. "Oh shit," Katsuya shouted, running past the others with wide eyes. "Shizuka! I gotta find Shizuka!" the blond repeated, stumbling through the sand as he headed toward whatever direction he faced.

"A-Oi oi! Blondie, we don't even know which way to go!" Anzu's snake shouted, violet eyes flashing in the moonlight as it hissed, no longer holding his tongue in place thanks to the return of bearable air. "How are we supposed to find... Her... Eh..." A door appeared before them, similar to the same one he'd found before as the others stared toward it. "Well that's convenient," he muttered, Katsuya pulling the doors curtain to the side.

"We c'n talk abou' how weird my head is later," he muttered, gesturing toward the door. "Let's go!"

"We got it," Anzu called out with a sigh, "Just wait up! Jonouchi... Hey, Jonouchi!" she repeated, the others running through the archway ahead as the blond disappeared. "J-Jonouchi! HEY!"

Katsuya ignored the woman, instead rushing through the wet and cavernous tunnel revealed through the door with grit teeth. They had to move. They had to...

Seto was one thing after all, she could probably take _him_ out if she wanted.

But like hell those assholes were targeting his little sister.


	9. The Edge of Oblivion

Finding a television had been the last thing she expected to do in the middle of the desert wastes. Since they'd been left their 'start point' they had found nothing but sand and the occasional rock, and the fact was that if she hadn't just about tripped over the damn thing she wouldn't have spotted it at all, half buried as it was. Of course with everything else happening she probably shouldn't have been surprised to find it there, but it was still strange.

More strange however was what was on the screen, something that she noticed shortly after digging a majority of it out from the dirt. "Ah... That's Katsuya-nii!" Mokuba shouted, the boy stopping down beside his sister to stare at the screen. "And his opponent..."

"Oka," Seto growled flatly, having a fairly good idea which one of the former board members would pick 'Judgeman' as their 'face'. "Tch... That Noa... What do you want?" she spat, turning her head up to the air, gesturing back to the television as it silently progressed through the duel in 'hell'. "Showing me this... What could you possibly hope to get out of it!" the woman cried. "Why not just tell me what you want with me, my body, my company... With anything!" she raged, "So that you can just be done with it!"

There was no answer, save blowing wind over a desert and a momentary look of confusion and worry from her brother. Damn it...

Damn it! The woman grit her teeth, looking out at the desert as Mokuba continued to watch the screen behind them in silence. What Noa wanted... What if 'this' was it she asked herself, scowl vanishing to a slight frown. To simply screw with her head, get under her skin. To watch and revel in the reaction he received as a response...

' _This is the wrong memory_ ', the girl had said. She'd burrowed through scene after scene with no care in the world up until her 'death', and it was still apparently the wrong one. But if it was such an important memory...

Then why didn't she recall it? She could recall almost every point in her life with ease, but why not this one? "Ah- Nee-sama," Mokuba abruptly shouted, the woman turning back as her brother moved aside to make room. "On the screen! Look!" The screen? Pale coloured hair on an eerily familiar face came into view, the woman tensing as the screen flashed.

"Gh- Noa," she hissed, eyes wide as she stared. Mokuba slowly raised the dial on the machine's volume control, the computerized boy's voice coming over the air as the siblings stared in uneasy silence. ' _If you wish to surpass the head of Kaiba-Corp, to reach your goals_ ,' the boy was snarling to Oka, the demonic 'judgeman' quite clearly caught between fear and rage, ' _Then you need to defeat those beneath that person as well! If you can't face this boy in a fair battle_ ,' he continued seriously, ' _Then what hope could you possibly have against Seto?'_ Surpass...

With a tone like that it almost seemed personal.

"So he wants to completely surpass me does he?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes as the conversation and moves both continued on the screen. But who, she thought with narrowed eyes. Who could possibly instigate that sort of competitive streak, there was no one in any circle of relations she had that-

No. There was one.

But that person was dead, long dead the woman reminded herself, and it would otherwise be impossible for a corpse to influence the living. She certainly wasn't the sort to believe in ghosts after all (though as of late she'd been tempted it seemed)

...So how was this happening then? And who was this boy she asked herself testily, watching as Jonouchi finishing his final move on the screen. A final gamble, a 50/50 bluff bet, making a decision between two cards... "Hn! A fool's strategy," she muttered, Mokuba smiling somewhat from the side. A completely worthless thing to put faith in...

So of course he'd win using it, blasting the demon of a lawyer across a sanded plain to stain the ground red. Again the woman shook her head, before standing from the television to look past it as it crackled. "...Nee-sama?" Mokuba asked from behind her, looking to the woman as she stared out at the desert. "Do you think... Do you think they'll be alright?" he asked, Seto not even glancing back. They?

As in everyone? ...Eh... She wasn't going to bother vouching for the three she hadn't seen, but she supposed she could at least assure her brother of the others. "Hn. Yugi's too naive for his own good, Anzu can't fight in a dangerous situation worth hell, and the mutt is a complete moron," she began, brow twitching somewhat as her brother sighed almost knowingly. "But that 'mutt' is also on my security team," the woman continued with a slightly calmer tone, sliding down the side of a sand dune before turning back, "So I would expect him to at least get himself and the others out safely enough. Does that answer your question?"

Her only response of course, was a chuckled sigh as her brother followed behind, along with a smile.

* * *

She knew from the start where she was, she supposed. Just north of Kyoto, at the Elementary Graduation field trip... Visiting Japan's largest lake, 'Biwa-ko'.

At lake Biwa there were paddle boats shaped like swans, with room for two; as part of the trip, everyone would get to take a boat out for a few hours... Which was why she had stood at the side of the lake that day, before getting paired up with a boy from a separate class at the school. ' _You'll both be going to Omiya Middle, won't you?_ ' they'd said, dividing each of the graduating classes first into groups of middle schools and then into pairs of two. ' _You're the only two who haven't chosen partners; go on_ ,' the teachers continued almost persistently, the boy beside her scowling, ' _Take the last boat now, and have some fun! Don't waste the money your parents gave for this trip!_ '

At that time, she didn't know much of 'Ryuzaki Keiichi', not outside of rumors at least. And even though it was only two and a half years ago, watching it now brought the memory back clearly enough to know that if she'd known more she would have likely already been friends. She didn't have many friends back then after all; though she'd been living in Asahi since she was about seven, she had been diagnosed with 'Retintis Pigmentosa' that year... They'd gone to the doctor because she couldn't see in the dark any more, and thought that perhaps some sort of virus was going around...

But they went in only to realize that she had an accelerated form of a hereditary disease.

She'd gotten rather frantic she remembered with a slight laugh, cutting it with a wince as she sat along the lake shore to watch her memories 'play'. While most would have decades she had years... And she had wanted to find out all she could, solve the problem before it was too late, before she couldn't see anything again! Maybe that was why her friends left. Because of all the endless studying and research and classwork.

Or maybe it was because they didn't like seeing her like that, quiet and depressed as she had gotten after receiving the news. Either way all of them had chosen to go to separate schools to leave her alone, and everyone else had picked partners by that point on that day.

Everyone but him.

Most people did not like Keiichi back then, at least most at the school she found. To the teachers, he was a 'lazy menace' and a 'disgrace', letting his hair go long and un-cut, managing to skip school right on the 'surprise examination' dates... All while still receiving top marks in the class and grade both.

To the students he was a prick, plain and simple; the kid who spent the first ten minutes of class looking up the assignments on the board before completing them and then using the rest of the time to busy himself with his deck of cards. A 'know it all' and a 'show off'...

And his attitude didn't help at all, given that approaching him tended to receive a snark and an insult before he shuffled off. So of course they'd ended up bickering in the boat within minutes, despite neither of them objecting too much further on the partnership after the mention of the field-trip's cost. They'd paddled off, fighting over which way to go and what they were going to see...

And then the boat had gotten stuck; a jammed paddle, leaving them stranded in the lake while her temper had been raised from its usual locked box. ' _Great_ ,' she'd muttered childishly, pouting in the boat. _'I'm stuck with you..._ '

_'Oh wow,_ ' Keiichi snorted, semi-long hair tied back for the moment. ' _That's REALLY polite of you miss 'mousy'. Aren't you supposed to be the quietest kid in your class?_ '

To this she had little to say, instead turning away with a snort. ' _Jerk_.'

_'Pansy._ '

_'Moron._ '

_'Ahou._ '

Shizuka, rather, the 'young' Shizuka turned around, a fairly Katsuya-like grin on her face. ' _...Bakaaaaa~_ '

_'Gh- Why you-!_ '

Keiichi had of course lunged at her in response to that comment, moving to push her overboard. She however attempted the same in retaliation, toppling in after him and getting themselves picked up by staff to be taken somewhere dry. Toweled up and waiting to warm up until the teachers came back...

They weren't 'really' friends, not after that of course. And the fact was the most conversation they had after that was finding out that one liked dinosaurs and that the other was not nearly as enthused on the subject. When they ended up in the same class at Omiya, she supposed they paid more attention to each other through necessity.

_'Ryuzaki-kun...'_ she could remember shouting months after the first year began, walking along the shore of the lake as it melted into the outside view of her classroom. ' _Exams are in two weeks,_ ' she'd told him, a small arm band reading 'iinchou' on her shoulder. ' _How can you not study_!'

_'...By... Not... Studying_?' he'd offered, leaning back on his chair with a shrug. The girl had merely scowled, growing somewhat red-faced as other classmates witness the 'two-faced class rep' in action.

_'OOOGH! You MORON!'_

_-smack!_

_'GEEZE!_ ' The chair toppled back into place, Keiichi rubbing his ears as a book was slammed on the desk. ' _Sheesh! What the hell, Shizka-san!_ '

' _DO YOUR HOMEWORK FOR ONCE!'_ Hahaha...

Shizuka shook her head as she watched the two younger selves bicker, holding her head as she laughed. Haha... Yeah...

That about summed up their relationship in those times, she told herself. The only one not calling her 'class rep', or 'kawai-san'... The only one occasionally stopping by her desk to annoy her for 'no particular reason' when she was feeling particularly depressed about her failing vision...

Not that she'd ever told him that.

But when did it change she asked herself, a slight wind blowing around her as she stared. When did all of this change, when did they 'really' consider themselves friends..?

Maybe... That day she thought, the wind suddenly blowing as it came to the end of the school year. Grade 7...

She was in grade seven, or at least would be for another few days. The marks for the final exams had been posted, along with the new class lists. They were in the same class again... But that wasn't what they were talking about.

_'Top of the class again... Really_ ,' she'd muttered, looking to Keiichi in disdain. _'How can you get those kinds of marks without lifting a finger!_ '

' _Heh! It's called 'I'm smart',_ ' he'd responded, looking up from a book he was reading as he leaned against the wall. ' _Deal with it_.' She almost shook her head and simply left after that...

But she found herself looking at the book instead, staring at it. The cover was what had caught her attention. It wasn't from their library, and she didn't think she'd seen it anywhere... ' _Paleontology?_ ' she'd asked, after finding out the book's topic. ' _I didn't know you were actually going after that career seriously Ryuzaki-kun..._ '

The boy had merely shrugged, turning a page. ' _Eh_ ,' he muttered in excuse, ' _You never cared enough to ask..._ '

_'Gh- Because all you ever do is play with cards!_ ' Shizuka had shouted back, flicking at the other with the papers in her hands.

' _ITEI! Damn it Shizka-chan...'_ he growled, rubbing his head. _'How can someone so quiet be so violent..!_ '

_'I don't know, you just manage to bring out that sort of thing_!' Ah... Shizuka blinked, staring at the memory for a moment in silence. That was when...

After that day, she'd let him call her that, using the 'chan' honorific. Soon after, she started calling him 'Keichi-kun' instead of 'Ryuzaki-kun', even occasionally asking about his duel monsters cards when he began running about for the tournaments in the area. Maybe it was then that they were really 'friends', even if they kept fighting over every little thing. She got to meet his aunt that year after all, and traveled with the boy for his semi-final match in Okinawa later that fall courtesy of that woman.

'Tamae-ba' as she was told to call her worked in the USA at the moment it had seemed. Digging fossils and making notes, a fact that came about when she'd given Keiichi some pack of foreign DVDs to watch in his spare time. She was Keiichi's role model she supposed, given the look on the boy's face when they'd met. And they'd gotten along well...

It was something that made her regret not being able to introduce him to her brother back then when it was easy rather than the way it had come out now. But Tamae-ba had taken her nephew on a vacation for the month that summer, so she'd found herself keeping silent. And then...

After that summer, when she'd seen her brother again...

' _Hey!_ ' he'd shouted from the door, her younger self curled up on her bed upstairs. 'Hey,' he repeated worriedly, ' _Is Shizka-chan in there? She never showed up for school,_ ' Keiichi continued, ' _I've got her homework... She sick?_ ' No. No she wasn't, her mother had told the boy, Keiichi dropping his bag in shocked silence.

She was just too blind for the glasses to help her focus properly any more.

She never told anyone how the 'blindness' worked. They'd assumed it was a matter of nearsighted or farsightedness that was beyond technology's control, and even with what her mother had said, most would assume. It would figure then... That he'd known for a while though...

That when he came up the stairs after being let in, worriedly calling her name...

_'...Keichi-kun?_ ' she'd asked, turning toward him and squinting.

_'...It's too far now, isn't it?'_

Tears ran down Shizuka's face as she recalled that day, that afternoon that was left in a frightened silence. Keiichi had asked if he could stop by the next day, or even stay on the couch. He skipped school, pulling her out of the house with the carefree excuse ' _I can catch up easily; come on, lets do something fun! You can still see, even if it's just a little... So lets take advantage of that, alright?_ ' She'd agreed in the end; the teachers would have just sent her home with vision as bad as this, and Keiichi was known for skipping his classes occasionally as it was. When they got to his idea of 'fun' however, even near complete blindness didn't prevent her from recognizing the place.

_'Keiichi-kun... This is a museum..._ '

' _Hahaha... Well..._ ' The boy coughed, shrugging with a slight smirk. _'I didn't know what else to do... But hey, there's more than bones in there and-_ '

_'Okay,_ ' she'd decided, pulling her friend toward the entrance before allowing him to lead the rest of the way. _'Let's go!_ '

It was fun that day. She didn't really understand her friend's interest in all those bones, or in the painted pictures of 'artists renditions', but she supposed that it was fun nonetheless. The size of some of the monsters that walked the earth... The stories that Keiichi told for each one...

' _And some of these became birds?_ ' she shouted incredulously at one point, her friend grinning in response.

' _Haha! Yeah! Crazy, isn't it?_ ' he'd asked, before explaining away what ever stand they were at. One dinosaur did this, another did that...

Somehow it turned into a giant comparison chart, matching his cards to the fossils he so loved. _'But mammoths aren't-_ '

_'They're still fossils right?_ ' Well she supposed that made sense...

_'But then why are there dragons in your deck!_ ' Keiichi had gotten rather tense at that moment, snatching the Red-Eyes he'd been showing her back.

_'Hey! Dragons are cool too you know; I don't have to just use dinosaurs,_ ' he protested, the Shizuka of that time blinking.

_'But-'_

_'You said it yourself,_ ' he laughed, pocketing his deck. _'I'm too predictable. A dragon in a dinosaur deck makes sense with that in mind right? For a predictable guy like me.'_

'...'

But he wasn't predictable she shouted mentally, he was far from it! He was the one who despite all appearances was probably smarter than anyone else she knew, yet still played with dinosaur toys when no one was looking! T-Rex and Stegosaurus walking around the desk at home while she worked on homework...

The memory seemed unstable, and yet as she grit her teeth she could still hear the boy speaking to himself perfectly well. ' _'We will rule over all this land, and we will thrive,_ '' the stegosaurus was telling the T-Rex. ' _'And we will call it-_ '' He'd paused, looking up for a moment before continuing in English. ' _...Uh... '_ THIS LAND.' _'Really, '_ ' he had the T-Rex respond, lowering his voice comically, _''I think we should call it your grave- Raaa-raaa-raaa~' 'Auuuughh~ Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!' 'WAHAHAHA-Raaaa!' 'Ahhhh! Nooooo~'_ '

It made studying rather difficult, when the one reading your books was playing with toys. ' _...Keichi-kun... What are you doing?_ '

_'Uhhhhh..._ ' Keiichi in question turned, looking decidedly red now that she could properly see what his reaction was. ' _Quoting Firefly...?'_

' _...What?_ '

_'I'll just duck out now_ ,' he'd said quickly, vanishing just as the memory collapsed into ruin. Why...

Why was she seeing all of this again?

Shizuka frowned as clouds began to cloak the skies, eyes growing misty as she sniffed. These memories... Why were they playing in a video game? That was what this was right? She looked over herself, shivering slightly as a breeze passed. She looked almost like the belly-dancers in video games, or some other stereo-typically 'middle eastern' woman. Harem pants, a tight fitting 'bra'... In her hands she held two staves, each topped with a small head of sorts, but despite their size it was clear the staves were meant for magic. 'Blue Mage', her class was called. Able to learn from the opponent and counter with similar amounts of damage...

Though she'd really expected more clothing she told herself, peering at her reflection on the lake a moment before finding herself in the museum again. It was the same day she'd just seen, the day they'd skipped together... By this point they weren't so much looking at dinosaurs as they were fossils, but her 'guide' had seemed eager enough nonetheless.

' _This one here,_ ' Keiichi was saying, her little speck of vision staring up at an enormous skeleton, ' _Is called 'Elasmotherium', which means 'Thin Plate Beast'. It was one of the giant rhinos that lived millions of years ago,_ ' he explained calmly, gesturing over the bones with a smile. ' _See how the spine is curved? This guy had a 'hump' in addition to that huge horn, which caused that curve_.' Huge horn?

_'H-Hehh... Everything about it is huge!_ ' she'd shouted in protest, ' _The horn alone is two meters long..!_ '

Keiichi laughed of course, given the slight panic in his friend's voice. _'Hahaha! Yep! A lot of things were 'bigger' back then... In the end,'_ he explained further, ' _Smaller helps out more these days though; it means there's more food to go around. Besides,_ ' she could hear her friend mutter, a snort coming from behind as the memory faded.

'Could you imagine what it would be like if these things were still around today?'

"Pffffrf..." Something pawed at the ground behind her, a hard and rock-like surface pushing against her back as the blood drained out of her face. "Prrrrfff..."

"A-Ahhhhhh..."

Something told her she didn't want to turn around right now... "Prrrfff... RNNFFFFf..."

At all.

* * *

There were a number of ways this day could have gone much better Ryuuji told himself as he ducked behind another wall, examining the butterfly swords in his hands. Laboured breathing echoed slightly through the darkened room of what he'd come to realize was a temple of sorts, and as the shadows that filled the halls passed by the door he slumped to the ground. Snarls were echoing behind him.

Footsteps pounding, scales sliding by the rice-paper doors...

"Hah... Hah... Hah... ...Hahhhh..."

What was this place he asked himself once again, loosely holding a dagger in his hand as he swallowed. This 'virtual world'...

This temple filled with monsters he'd designed for the games he created.

_'Let's play a game,_ ' the voice called out as he'd fallen in the darkness, finding himself stripped of almost everything, including his headband and hair elastic. ' _You're going to be placed in a dungeon with one other person_.'

He'd interrupted at that point.

' _What is this? What do you want with me?_ ' These shouts had persisted as panels swirled around him, his slightly long hair 'floating' in the dark.

The boy however ignored him, and continued to explain. ' _This person will not be with you right away, and neither of you will know the other's location,_ ' he explained, ordering the teen to pick his 'class' and 'armor'. ' _Your task_ ,' Noa stated darkly as he fell to the ground with those choices made, ' _Is to find this person... Before your nightmares DO_.'

Another shudder passed through his body as those last words echoed through his memories, hands holding his head in the silence of the room. Those monsters out there...

Demons and shades from myths of old, from tales long past that he'd delved into while forced to study the histories of the ancient world. Manticore and Chimera, Basalisk and Ondine... It was probably only the oldest of folklore, the 'truth in the myth' that kept him alive thanks to how much went into those monsters.

He'd known to run from the Basalisk as it looked at him, because while the eyes were indeed a sight to behold it was their breath that killed their victims, and the powerful venom released with the slightest of cuts. He'd known to run from the sound of a trumpet for that was the sound of a Manticore's growl, and as a beast with ten rows of teeth in a head larger than his own he would stand little chance. The Chimera he knew did not have three heads; it had one, and while the monster's back was turned he fled, the fires it spewed too much for him to handle. As for the Ondine...

That was another matter entirely, and he was sorely glad that he'd been in a kitchen with access to a drain at the time, because slicing a woman made of water into submission was a messy business. Not to say he'd done that one on purpose...

The fact was game or not he didn't trust this 'Noa' to give him a chance.

And against the monsters of myth he didn't plan to take too many risks. Silence filled the air now. Ryuuji stood hesitantly by the wall as he peered out the door, squinting into the darkness in attempt to look for any other monsters. In the darkness of the hall there was nothing to be seen for the moment- nothing but slowly floating flames to light the way, with anything outside the windows of the traditionally styled Japanese building revealing a starry sky and the occasional tree. Nothing was there...

Just wood and paper screens. It was safe for now.

He could rest.

"Hah... Thank god," the teen laughed, shaking his head as the daggers in his hands vanished into smoke. "For a moment," he laughed nervously, "I thought I'd be-"

" _Hsssssssssssttthhhhhh_..." Um...

What was that? Ryuuji slowly turned around, squinting in the darkness as a hissing noise came through the air. Daggers appeared in his hands again, a sure sign of an attack. His barefeet moved slowly backward, and as he squinted he thought he saw something move.

" _Ssssssssthhhhhhh..._ " Something... Some kind of snake...

Red eyes began to glow from the dark, the teen slowly walking back out of the room with horror as he realized just how large the source was. "Ooooh shit..." Horns... There were horns on this thing's head, and as he turned to run he knew of only one thing that could possibly be. "SHIIIIIITT!"

" _SSSSTHHRREEAAAAAAAAAAHHH_!" A thundering crack came through the air as the horned serpent struck the wall he'd stood against moments before, Ryuuji rushing down the hall with wide eyes. Angered snarls escaped behind him, crunching wood swallowed before the monster continued its charge. Not good, he told himself as the serpent slid across the floors, daggers seemingly multiplying in his hands as he came to a ledge. Not good at all!

"Gh- Dance of Daggers!" the teen shouted, tossing a wave of somehow replenishing knives toward the beast as he leaped backward in a spinning motion.

Somehow his reflexes were acting on their own, moving to suit the few bits of clothing his armor left him with. As the snake before him screeched in rage his hands fell back to grab a support beam behind him before he even knew it was there, his vest flapping in the air as he moved. He flipped backward on his hands, legs over his head and back again before he gained enough momentum to push off to the other side of what had been a gap between two balconies. And with that...

"Hah... Hah... Hihh..." Ryuuji looked back at the snake, watching as it turned from the flurry of knives before screeching with rage.

" _SSTTTHHHHHHHREEEEEEEEE_!" With ease the serpent followed his path Ryuuji turning into another run with a shout as the beast continued to shed the knives embedded in its skull. " _REEEEEEEEEEE!_ " Crap crap crap crap crap!

"Gh- When he said nightmares," he shouted in panic, hopping another barrier only for the serpent to devour it behind him, "I didn't think he meant greek monsters!" The snake merely continued to hiss and snarl behind him, coiling on itself as it shot down the hallway after him. What kind of place was this anyways? A Japanese temple, filled with anything from ramen stands to school desks... He'd never been in a place like-

"GH!"

"OW!"

A short crack came out as he turned the corner, rubbing his head as whatever he hit bounced back. Ryuuji bit his lip, shaking his head and turning to the 'whatever' in question only to stare. This...

"H-Honda!" he shouted with surprise, the teen before him blinking as he stood as well.

"Otogi..!" His friend grinned, belt of bullet magazines on his shoulder gleaming somewhat from the worn and thread-bared vest and shirt he had. "Hah..! You're here too... I'd almost thought that Noa prick was lying to me!" A smirk came over the teen's face, Honda crossing his pistol wielding arms and shaking his head. "Heh- nice clothes," he commented as he looked over the leather-clad teen before him, "Really- Gh! Wh-"

"We can talk about un-wanted clothing later," Ryuuji muttered, a loud screech coming over the air from behind him, "For now just run!"

"Run?" the teen asked, "Why are we-”

" _SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSTH_!" Red eyes and green scales turned the corner, massive fangs visible to both boys as their eyes widened.

"HOLY FUCK!" Honda hurriedly picked up the pace as he caught sight of the snake, pulling his friend down a separate hall as he picked up speed. "HAAAAAHH! What the hell is THAT!"

"Cerastes, man-eating serpent from Greece!" Ryuuji shouted in response, "Now just RUN!"

" _SHHREEEEEEEEETH_!"

"Man-eating- Damn it!" the teen snarled, taking aim behind him as the snake snarled, "The clowns were enough!"

"You were fighting _clowns_?" he asked incredulously, before ducking in reaction to a series of bangs.

" _REEEEEEEEESSSTTTTHHH!_ "

"Rather not talk about it," Honda muttered loudly, before ducking down another hall and pulling his friend into it. It was a tight fit, but as Ryuuji found himself at the dead end his friend merely re-loaded his weapons. The serpent out of the hall snarled with rage while the boys stared...

While they hid in a hall that its head could never hope to squeeze into.

"Hah... That should work..." For now at least he added mentally, saying nothing for the moment. "Now... Help me figure out this thing's weakness," he continued, looking back at his friend as Ryuuji shook his head.

"It doesn't have one," he said seriously, sounds of snarling and chipped wood coming through the air in the meantime. "The Cerastes simply 'was'; kill or be killed, no special weaknesses." Though it seemed his daggers served to only annoy the beast...

Honda appeared to groan at the lack of a weakpoint nonetheless, holding his head in his hands as the revolvers hung from his fingers. "Augggghh... Damn it," he cursed under his breath, "That's no good... These things don't do squat unless it's working at an advantage..."

He turned, eyebrows raised in slight surprise. They did... Nothing? "Seriously? Even my knives do something," he muttered, shaking his head as Honda looked up.

"You have knives? I don't even see a sheath on those 'pants'," he snorted, "Where the hell are you hiding-"

Ryuuji brought up a hand, a pair daggers misting into existence as he frowned. "They're right here, dumbass; I took the dancer's class." This...

Only seemed to further irritate the conversation. "Pbtt... Dancer?" Honda snorted, the sounds and rumblings of the snake outside the hall momentarily ignored for the sake of conversation. "What, do you mesmerize them with your 'moves'?" Of for fucks-

"You know what, shut up! at least I get a speed bonus! What about you?" he argued, the gun-wielding teen staring blankly in response. "'Gunman'? What's that supposed to do?"

The teen continued staring, before crossing his arms with a shrug. "Well... I don't know about you but... Being able to see that thing from a distance would have been helpful," he countered, pointing to the still raging cerastes as he chuckled. "So all in all, between eagle vision and girl pants, I'm pretty happy right now... Khnhnhnha!" Ooooh, just go ahead and laugh...

Ryuuji scowled, crossing his arms as he turned away. "Hn! Least I don't look like a Westworld reject," he muttered, Honda raising his eyebrows.

"Westworld?"

"...Cowboys but robots," he answered automatically, opting not to bother trying to explain the american show. "Just..."

Honda rolled his eyes, holstering his pistols to cross his arms. "Hn! I might like like a 'cowboy'," he muttered with a smirk, "But at least I don't look like a stripper."

"Wha-" What the- "I don't look like a stripper!" he snarled, fists clenched.

"U-huh. Prove it."

"There are plenty of normal people who walk shirtless in vests!" he hissed, receiving another set of rolled eyes before looking at the snake. "And are we going to do something about that thing any time soon?"

His friend turned, crossing his arms before giving a somewhat nonchalant shrug. "Well... I would do something," he admitted, "But you said there were no weaknesses. So no. No, we're pretty stuck."

"Huh." Well wasn't that lovely. Ryuuji sighed, slumping into a seat and shaking his head. Trapped in a tiny closet in a temple... "Well... Looks like we're going to be here for a while then..."

"Yeeeeep," Honda responded, stretching out. "A loooong while..."

"Where the hell is this anyways?" he muttered, looking up at the ceiling as he frowned. "Noa said these would be memories, but I've never been in a place like this..."

Honda snorted, shaking his head. "Hah! Funny... I got the same thing. He tell you some crap about saving someone from your own nightmares too?" As a matter of fact...

"Yes actually... He didn't exactly tell me I'd be facing these though," he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

" _SSSSTHHHHREEEE! SSSSSSTTTTTHHHHH_!" Hnn...

The two glanced back at the thing, frowning.

"Yeah... Didn't exactly tell me what I'd be doing either," said Honda, the teen turning back to his friend. "Monsters all you got stuck with then?”

Ryuuji nodded, face somewhat blank. "Yeah; though a few seemed familiar now that I think about it, or at least the humanoid ones..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Why, what's your point?"

"Hn... I don't know whether to call you lucky or not," his friend muttered. "I didn't end up running after monsters for a pretty decent while... Got stuck in some twisted recording of my memories instead." His memories?

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you what happened to my parents?" he asked, Ryuuji nodding slowly as he recalled the awkward evening that resulted in. "...I just got to see it happen again," he whispered, shaking his head. "I mean... Even watching them at the hospital would have been better, but watching some truck cut them off with no warning while waving 'good-bye' from the street? Did I really need that kind of crap?"

Ryuuji stared, unsure of just what to say. He didn't know how many people knew about Honda's parents. They knew Honda lived with his sister... But as far as he recalled, no one asked why.

"...Honda... Are you..."

The teen shrugged, looking decidedly detached from everything. "I just had to wonder, if I was the only one Noa was fucking with," he muttered, shaking his head. "Guess I am... But what kind of moron runs into a truck?" he snarled, "I mean, come on!"

"...You alright?"

"I'm fine! Just... Haven't thought about this for a while," he muttered, shaking his head. "Mom and dad... They both managed to live just long enough for Ane to reach adult age before their organs failed. I can still remember the few weeks after even, thanks to that stupid 'video'. You know thinking back, I think I might have met Mokuba?" Ah..?

"Mokuba?" he repeated, the teen nodding as he frowned.

"Yeah; not at the cemetery of course, though there was some kid there that looked like him, but at a park a little while after... Thinking back it probably wasn't him though," he added, shaking his head. "Said he was waiting for his sister."

"Ah... I see. ...Did you know your mother that well?" he ended up saying after a moment, turning away awkwardly.

"...Kinda. Not really I guess," he muttered, staring off. "Parents were workaholics according to Ane... Hell, the night of the crash they'd been called in for Christmas. She... She was pretty pissed, needless to say..." Oh...

"...Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. Not upset, just pissed. Brat's got no right screwing with my head like that... Even when it's just shit like this," he added, jabbing a thumb in the still snarling snake's direction.

The snake, of course, snarled back.

"...Tch... You sure this thing doesn't have a weakness?" Honda asked, fingering his pistols with a scowl.

"Pretty sure- my daggers didn't even phase it," he added, shaking his head. "Granted, this is the first fight I've actually bothered taking initiative in," Ryuuji muttered. "The only reason I took down the ondine was because the door was blocked..."

"The first-" His friend snorted, pulling himself up. "Sheesh! Well no wonder you didn't do anything, you're probably still 'level one'! Damn... I'm not taking advice from you, you suck at this!"

"W-What! What the hell! I take caution and I 'suck'?"

Honda pulled out a gun, clicking the safety off in a single swift movement as he aimed it toward the Cerastes. "Hn! Whatever... Even if it doesn't do anything, I could use something to shoot right now. What harm can come from this!" he called out, pulling the safety down with a sneer. "I don't know about elemental advantages, but this thing has to at least break down for cold steel! Quarter Shot!" he shouted, voice drowned out by the sound of the gun.

Rather than the standard bullet however a burst of light fired forward, forming from it a cannon-ball that blasted through with and before the sound of the blast. The sphere broke through the snake's hide with ease, and in a cut cry it collapsed to the ground, brain matter and blood scattering the ground.

"Hah! Alright!" Honda cheered, Ryuuji merely staring at the snake blankly as his friend climbed over the corpse. "That was easy!"

"Hah... It was..." The teen winced somewhat, dimly hearing a shout in the back of his mind before pushing it back. "...You know... I didn't expect something with the history it has to fall so quickly..."

His friend shrugged, shaking his head. "Hey, not like there's anything much to monsters when you're in a video game..." Well...

If you were playing something built around that action yes, but normally there was more of a strate-

"So... We've gotten to this point now," Honda continued with a smirk. "Where to next?"

Hnn... "Given that this location is apparently formed by your mind," the teen muttered as he looked around the hall, "I'd guess that's up to you," he muttered. "From what I can tell only the monsters are from my head..."

"Yeah, about that," Honda cut in, "What exactly was with those? Some of them were pretty fucked up!"

Gee thanks. "I designed them," he said dryly, crossing his arms with a growl. For the D-D-D game actually... But besides all of that. "What about this place?" Ryuuji asked as he frowned. "Just what does this place have to do with you?"

Honda frowned, shaking his head. "Not actually sure; I think I came here for a field trip," the teen trailed off, "Or maybe... ...Oh!" He blinked, before his face went somewhat blank. "This place... This is the temple from the middle school grad. I didn't really remember much of it." Middle school-

"That was less than two years ago," he muttered incredulously, "How did you forget something like that?"

The teen scowled, narrowing his eyes. "Oh shut up alright? I skipped most of the trip to run around with Jonouchi... Besides! At least you don't see me asking about what a bunch of clown screw-ups are doing in your head!"

Ryuuji winced somewhat at that, looking away. Clowns...

He had a fairly good idea. "Gh... You just asked now," he muttered, not looking back as he began to walk away from the snake's corpse. Not that he was answering the 'whys' anyways. "Now... We should probably get moving," he told his friend, glancing back as Honda nodded.

"I guess so..." The teen sighed, spinning his guns on his fingers as he walked along his friend. "I don't think I'll be able to really figure out a way out that easily though," he muttered, shaking his head. "I mean, I've been wandering for hours with no luck, and most of the doors just brought memories really."

The doors eh?

Well given that he'd been running through hallway after hallway, he supposed that made sense. "Hnnn... Something tells me the building's halls are set in a loop," the teen thought aloud, narrowing his eyes. "It's a good way to keep a player busy," he explained, "But most people realize something is wrong before too long."

Honda frowned, the spinning on his fingers stopping as he sighed. Apparently the stealth insult was acknowledged but not addressed. "Right... Not going there." Of course he wasn't. "...Hey, Otogi?" he muttered, glancing at the teen as they walked down the oddly sparse hallway. "You think the others are in here?" The others...

He shrugged, shaking his head. "Well... I'd like to think so at least," he said with a frown. "We were all knocked out after all," he continued, "So I'd think we're all in this somehow..."

"Then... That means..." The teen seemed to brighten somewhat, running ahead with a somewhat red face as Otogi stared. "S-Shizuka!" he shouted, holstering the guns as he cupped his hands. "HEYYYY! SHIZUKAAAA, WHERE ARE YOU!"

"Gh- H-Honda!" Ryuuji shouted, running after his friend with wide eyes. "Honda, what the hell do you think you're doing," he hissed, easily catching up to the teen.

"Looking for Shizuka, what else!" he growled, before turning back. "SHIZUKAA- Glk!"

Honda's mouth was quickly covered, a ' _sshht_!' sound coming through the air as Ryuuji scowled. "Gh- Are you dense?" he spat, receiving a glare from the teen for his efforts. "You're going to attract monsters! Not to mention get us both killed! Just find a door so we can leave!"

The teen scowled, shaking his head as he forced his friend's hand from his mouth. "Gh- Not before I find Shizuka; she could be in trouble for all we know!"

"WE'RE in trouble," Ryuuji countered, pointing to himself. "We die if we lose, we don't have time to risk getting caught! We don't even know if Shizuka is in this tem-"

" _Grrrrrrrnnn..._ " Low growls came over the air, the two slowly turning as a shadow fell over the hall. It spread across the floor like an approaching blanket, some great storm cloud, and as glowing eyes appeared from the darkness they could see around the enormous and shifting orb. Within the sphere could be seen a skeleton, some sort of corpse... A griffin, with wide spread wings of rotted feathers and decaying flesh to coat the rest of its bones. " _Greeeeeeeee..._ " Low growling continued to come through the air, the creature approaching at a snail's pace as it shifted into a serpentine like figure. " _GREAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEE..._ "

The two teens swallowed, eyes wide as they slowly backed away from the beast. "Otogi?" Honda whispered, taking aim at the demon with both guns. "Please tell me this thing has a weakness..."

W-Weakness? He couldn't even think. All there was was...

Fear.

Oh god...

Fear was filling his every being as he looked at the creature, and as Honda's words registered he slowly shook his head. "This... You can't fight this one," he muttered fearfully, continuing to shuffle back with a choke before grabbing the teen's arm. "You need to run," he forced out, Honda glancing at him with wide eyes. "Run!" he repeated, shaking his head in an uncharacteristic panic. "RU-"

" _GRAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEE!_ " Shadows lashed from the sphere and naga-like demon, Ryuuji and Honda both ducking under as gunfire hit the air. The monster seemed to change its form back to the rotted griffin, covering itself with thick armor as it continued to screech. " _GREEEEEEEEEEE_!"

"Gh..." Bullet after bullet passed through the beast, Honda falling over himself as he attempted to run. "Nothing!"

"I told you, don't attack it!" Ryuuji shouted, pulling the teen away. "You can't kill this thing!"

"And how would you know," Honda countered, "You said the same thing about the cerastes!" "That's because it didn't have a weakness," he continued, looking back with horror filled eyes as the shadows effortlessly followed at a speed to seemingly match their own. "It was just a monster, just an oversized snake with horns... But this..."

" _REAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEE_!" Metal clacked and wood burned, and all they could see for their efforts was darkness.

Honda turned the corner with choked breaths, but nonetheless they continued to run as it followed. "'This'? What do you mean 'this'?" the teen was shouting, "What the hell does 'But this' mean!"

"It means that it's not even alive!" Ryuuji roared, grabbing Honda's arm and pulling him across a narrow gap with minor difficulty. The shadows only briefly paused at this obstacle however, the teen pulling his friend up from the edge before they continued their run. "Gh- It's just an 'entity'," he explained, hopping a fallen wood beam on what was a rather ruined side of the temple, "It's darkness itself!"

Honda choked, momentarily freezing as he clambered and stumbled over the same obstacle to run after his friend. "Darkness- What the hell are you talking about!"

"It's 'ZU'," he shouted hurriedly, breaking into a panic driven sweat as they turned the corner to a seemingly endless hall. "It's the embodiment of evil itself one of three 'powers' depicted in ancient times... This isn't even it's real name!" Ryuuji pressed, glancing back only to shudder with fear as he locked eyes with the beast for a brief moment. "The letters were almost completely eradicated! 'Zu' is all anyone can get from it!"

"So this is the embodiment of... You've got an embodiment of evil in your head!?" Honda roared, finding himself kicking off from a nearby ledge to keep moving as he fired a series of pointlessly wasted bullets at the beast. The monster again snarled, lashing out as its target ducked and ran. "What the hell! What's wrong with you?"

"Beside the fact that it's not the real Zu, this isn't not just my head, remember?" the teen countered, ducking under another wooden beam as the shadow chasing them began to warp the scenery around them. "This is just as much mine as yours, so how do I know this isn't a representation from YOUR head?"

"I'm pretty damn sure I don't have a thing called 'ZU' in my head!" Honda snarled, again releasing another barrage of bullets toward the beast as the room shook. "Damn it... TRIPLE BARRAGE!" he roared, a small crater forming across the sphere and body of the beast as before the bullet holes filled in. "AGGGH! FUCK!"

"Honda... We need to get out of here!" Ryuuji shouted, tossing a dagger forward for a foot hold on the now tipping wall. "This building was from your head," he continued from his hold, "Think of something!"

"Gh-" The teen looked back at the monster they were still somehow running from, the beast resembling some demonic giant lined with bone. "I'm thinking!" he shouted back, kicking off whatever rubble he could as his partner did literal backflips around him to hold the lead. "But it's a little hard with this 'Zu' thing chasing us around!"

"Well then think harder!" Ryuuji shouted, looking back with a scowl.

"Think harder! What kind of argument is that!"

"The best you're getting," he responded, Honda balking as a result.

"WHAT?"

" _GAAAAEEEEEEEEE... SREAAEEEEEEEE!_ "

The two teens looked back as the hall tipped to a complete 90 degrees, Honda barely catching himself on Ryuuji's legs as the teen gripped one of his wall embedded daggers. The grip was strained and suffice to say holding on was difficult, but as they both looked down Honda quickly turned his attentions back to pointless defense.

"Gh- Any ideas yet?" he shouted up, firing more useless bullets to the beast before tapping another magazine from his holder.

"You're asking me?" shouted Ryuuji incredulously, "After what I just said?"

"Well, I thought I'd give it a try at least!"

A try... Yes, let's give defeating 'darkness' a try, that would always work! He bit his lip, watching as the hall seemed to lengthen before them as the demon crawled upward. "Gh... Well even if we could find a door in this loop," Ryuuji responded with a swallow, "We're hanging onto the floor right now! Any doors will be impossible to enter from this position!"

"Damn it... There has to be some... Ah..!" Honda tensed, his look of fear shifting completely as he looked upward. "OTOGI!" the teen abruptly shouted, his friend looking down in response. "Let go of the knife!" Let go of the-

"WHAT!"

"Let go of the knife," he repeated, "I've got an idea!"

Ryuuji stared down incredulously, shaking his head as shadows wrapped about the walls at their sides. 'Zu' might not have been able to reach them, but his magic could. And in moments all that was left was a pillar of 'light' separating their path from darkness.

They had little time. "Are you completely insane!" This wasn't going to work!

"Just do it!" Honda roared.

"No!" No way in hell!

"DO IT!"

"I said N- OW, FUCK!" A gunshot rang through the air, Ryuuji's hand falling from the dagger as he gripped his hand. Bleeding. He'd shot his-

...Crap.

"Ac- Ah... AHHH! H-HONDA, YOU ASSHOLE!" he wailed, the wound in his hand healing over as he looked to the teen. "WHAT THE HELL!"

"Just shut up and head toward the light!" he shouted back, diving forward as the demon screeched below.

"WHAT LIGHT?"

"THIS ONE," the teen responded as he came within range of the demon. "SOLAR BULLET! "

In a single instant light blinded their vision. The bullet that fired from Honda's twin pistols combined blasted directly through the darkness ahead, traveling further and further down the hall until it reached the corner. Even then however it continued onward, seeping into the wood before them. Cracks burst from the wall, debris and dust flew forward...

"Get ready to land," Honda shouted, managing to right himself somewhat in the air as he fell. "Because if I'm right, this might hurt!" La-

"Gh-" Ryuuji's hand caught at the wall as they passed it, the demon behind them giving an enraged shriek followed by the sound of crumbling. The sounds continued, his vision faltered... And all at once the world righted itself, sending the disoriented teens into a confused mess.

Honda flew forward to grab the wall of what looked to be an outer balcony, yelping as he narrowly avoided toppling over the edge. He himself fell down to gravity's effects from the side of the wall, gripping it tightly as he attempted to get over what just happened.

"That... What the hell was that?" he shouted, watching his friend climb back onto the wall with a rasping laugh.

"Ahaha... Hahaha... Man... I don't know," Honda laughed, wiping his eyes with a grin, "But if Kaiba ever gets that game working sign me up... Holy shit... Yugi and Jonouchi's stories got nothing on this!" Gh...

Was he serious? Ryuuji shook his head with wide eyes as he recovered, rubbing his neck for a moment before walking forward. "Hahhh... I'm not even going to address that," he muttered, leaning against the wall with a frown. "How the hell you could enjoy something like that is beyond me... I don't even know where you got the idea to run through Zu before it healed!"

"Hahh... You and me both," his friend laughed, blood draining somewhat from Ryuuji's already white face. "Now... Where are we?" Honda muttered, looking around the area. Ryuuji frowned, turning to look over the wooden wall blankly in response.

Trees. Both tropical and deciduous... The occasional temple, skyscraper and mountain, along with a lake and a plain. "Going by first impressions," he decided with a frown, "Something that looks like a mix between Okinawa and... Probably the Hokkaido region..." Just a guess of course, but given that there was no other place you could possibly see that sort of natural expanse without _something_ marring it in the distance...

"So we're in Hokkaido and Okinawa," his friend said.

"Yes."

"...On a floating temple from Kyoto," Honda added.

"Yeah, a floating te- What kind of fucked up field trips were you going on!?" he barked incredulously, Honda jumping back with a shout.

"Gh- It's not all from my head!" he protested, "I've never even been to Okinawa!"

"Well neither have I, so then how are we-"

"KYAAA _AAAAAAAAAAHHH!_ "

The two teens jumped, turning toward the sound of a young woman's scream as it came over the air. "T-That... Who was that?" Ryuuji muttered, scanning the fields below the 'ground line' of the temple they were on. "I don't see any-"

"Shizuka!" Honda shouted, pulling himself onto the castle wall with wide eyes as he stared seemingly at nothing. The eyes appeared almost metallic in hue, glowing with an eerie light as what was likely his class ability kicked in. "...She's... She's being chased by some kind of rhino-dinosaur thing!"

"Ah... She's getting chased by what..." The teen cut himself short as a small dot became visible in the distance, slowly growing clearer as it tore toward them at an angle. A cloud of dust... And as they

slowly tore toward the lake he paled. "Ah- you're right!"

"SHIZUKAAAAA!" his friend shouted, Ryuuji wincing in response as he plugged his ears. "SHIZUKAAAAA!"

"Gh- She can't hear you, dumbass! Your eye-sight's better than a damn falcon's," he spat in annoyance, "She's too far away for that!"

Honda grit his teeth at the comment, edging toward the side of the temple as he reached for his guns. "Gh... Looks like she chose a white mage class," he muttered under his breath. "Nothing but staffs and accented white... She's screwed! OIII! SHIZUKA!" he shouted again, ignoring his friend's wincing. "SHIZUKAAAAA!"

"Did you listen to a word I said!"

"Damn it..! Stay here," the teen responded, Ryuuji balking as Honda bolted down the side of the wall. "I'm going after this thing!" What what wha-

"Wh- What the hell-! Honda, this thing is floating above the ground! Hon-"

He winced as gunshots pierced through the air, Honda pushing off the wall to shoot at and eventually grab the bladed ears of the rhino while Shizuka stopped to stare. And of course, right beside where he'd run...

"...Damn it Honda, there's a rope ladder right here! ...Ahhhhhh..." He shook his head, hopping over the side and using the rungs as footholds to run down the cliff and expertly flying down the ladder before the force of his feet screwed up the run. "Whatever... Hey, Shizuka!" he called out, the girl turning as he hopped from the last few rungs to come over. "Shizuka come on, over here!" he continued, holding out a hand and pulling his friend away from the raging monster Honda was dealing with. "It's not safe..!"

"A-Ah... Otogi-han!" she shouted with surprise, broken staffs still clenched in her hands as he pulled her away. "You..."

"Honda can handle the dinosaur!" he said plainly, taking the girl behind a few trees as the dinosaur in question attempted to throw off its captor. "For now though, are you alright?"

Shizuka nodded, a look of relief quite clearly across her face even as gunfire and a surprised shout came over the air. "Hah... Thanks to you two," she said with a smile, bowing politely. "I have to thank you, Otogi-han..." Ah... Ah...

A splash sound came through the air, followed by coughing as the teen laughed. "It... It's not a problem," he coughed, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed. "Right, Honda?" he called out, the gunman pulling himself from the lake at the side to shake himself dry. "Not a problem right?"

"Gh..." The teen shook out his guns, sliding them back into the holster as the dinosaur corpse at the lake-side began to mist away. "You're lucky I don't shoot you," he growled, blowing the remaining water from his face as he scowled. "You didn't think I could use help?"

"Ahh... You looked like you could handle it," he muttered honestly, shrugging.

Shizuka laughed somewhat nervously, watching as the two glared at each other. "I... You don't need to argue," she laughed, rubbing her head. "Really, it's fine. No harm done right?"

"That's right," Ryuuji added with a grin, crossing his arms somewhat smugly. "Everything's fine here!"

"Otogi," his friend warned, approaching with a look of absolute murder on his face. "I... Am going... To destroy you..."

"Really," Shizuka continued quietly as she winced, "Please don't fight..."

"Ohhh, we weren't fighting," Honda muttered, looking at his soaked and seemingly useless guns in disdain before looking back to the teen. "Just talking..."

"I'm not that stupid," Shizuka muttered dryly.

"Trust me, if it was arguing you'd know," Ryuuji responded with a shrug. "There'd be more yelling, and then Honda's sister would come in to tell him off for it."

As Honda grew even more red with the comment their rescued friend scowled, narrowing her eyes.

"Seriously... Stop..."

"Yeaaaah well... Now that I think about it," the taller of the boys muttered, "It isn't as though the knives would have done much... What with this being a dinosaur, something that needs a little more 'kick' and 'power'!"

"Guys," Shizuka warned, growing tense from the side.

'Kick and power'? It was on. "Ohhh, alright... And this is coming from the one whose bullets only work when they're 'effective', otherwise nothing happens right?"

"GUYS..."

"Hah! At least I have a real class!" Honda snorted with a laugh, "What are you supposed to do, dance around your opponent until they're dizzy? Or blind them with rings maybe?"

"Hnngg... STONE CHARGE!” came an abrupt shout, a wave of energy passing through the area. A sudden stiffness struck Ryuuji's body, the teen tensing and freezing in place as the same occurred to his friend. It was as though they'd been turned to stone and yet...

"Gh- What..!"

"A-Ahh! S-Shizuka," Honda wheezed, managing to look to the side with a gasp. "What are you-"

"Hahh... I'm sorry," the girl said abruptly, bowing as she flushed nervously. "But you just wouldn't stop, I had to do something! The petrification should last a few more minutes," she explained further, rubbing her arms. "I just didn't want you to keep fighting like this!"

"Eh... S-Sorry," the teen coughed.

"Sorry..."

"But Shizuka," Ryuuji rasped, finding it rather hard to breath when he couldn't move, "If you could attack," he asked with a wince, "Then why didn't you fight the monster chasing you?"

"T-That's right... I didn't even know white mages could attack," Honda added, "I thought they were limited to 'white magic'..."

The girl continued to frown, shaking her head with an exasperated sigh. "Hahhhhhh... Honda-han, Otogi-han... I'm a blue mage," she told them, narrowing her eyes. "The attack I used was taken from the monster chasing me, it had no effect on its creator! That's like trying to set fire on fire! Ah, not to be rude of course," she added with a cough, again bowing as the two boys stared. What a switch in personalities. But...

Ah... "So... Blue Mage then?" Honda muttered, shaking himself as function returned to his limbs. "So then you adapt attacks from your opponents," he continued, Shizuka nodding as her 'captives' began to move again.

Ryuuji flexed his hands, shaking them out with a wince before looking back. "Ahahh... ...Well," he admitted, "I guess that explains why you were running... I would think you'd have to let it attack you to get something from it..."

Again the girl nodded, biting her lip. "That's right. I did try to take it out physically," she continued, "But... Well..." She held out the pair of broken staves, shaking her head and sighing. "I think I'll have to stick with that 'stone charge' attack for now... Ah- But besides that," Shizuka added, regaining the mousy appearance she held before hand. "How are you both doing? Did you have to fight any other monsters?" The two shared a look, eyebrows raised. Well...

There was the snake... And Zu... "Ahh... Hah! Well... You could say that," Honda coughed, shaking his head.

"We've been running around in that castle up there," Ryuuji added, pointing up and behind Shizuka as the girl followed his gesture to the skies above. "There were lots of monsters inside, and many of them were nigh invincible to say the least of things."

"But it seems to be a lot safer here," Honda continued quickly, acting as though there was nothing wrong about the situation. "We'll probably be fine now," he pressed, looking directly at Shizuka as he said this. Fine?

AhahaHAAAA no.

"No... There could be traps anywhere in this place, and the monsters we encountered weren't exactly in plain sight," he muttered, narrowing his eyes as Honda tensed. "I'm pretty sure that's far from 'fine'."

"Gh- Otogi," Honda hissed, turning to the teen with a start. "You-!"

Ryuuji frowned, staring at his friend oddly. "What? You know I'm right!"

"Yeah, but you'll make her nervous," he hissed, Shizuka smiling awkwardly from behind them.

"Erm... I'm... I'm right here you know... And I can hear you," she continued with a wave. "Besides... I'm sure that I'll be fine, and since we're all together it can't be that hard..."

"Ah- That's right!" Honda shouted with a grin, looking back to the girl with a somewhat forced looking grin, "So long as you're with us, nothing can go wrong!"

"H-Hey, do you even have proof of that?" There was no way that was true!

"Bite your tongue damn it!"

"I'm just saying," he countered, Honda scowling in response. "I think you're being a bit too optimistic about this. You're not exacting any caution at all, and you might get us in trouble..."

"Gh... You think that eh?" he asked, brow twitching somewhat in annoyance.

"H-Hey," Shizuka warned, stepping between the two with a frown. "No fighting!"

The two continued to glare at each other, the girl sighing as she moved past them with a frown.

"Listen... We have to move on even if there might be traps or monsters, alright? ...Okay?" Her friends both glared at each other for a few more moments, before eventually looking back as the woman continued. "After all," she said with a slight smile, "We need to stay focused to get- Ah... Ahhh... Ach-!"

"A-ch?" Ryuuji blinked, staring as the girl shook herself.

"Sorry," she said with a polite laugh, flushing somewhat. "Must be a cold..."

"Ah, a cold? In a virtual wor- Ah..." Honda froze, an odd look coming over his face as his nose twitched. "Worl... Ah... AAH-che!"

"E-Eh! You too?" Ryuuji asked with a jump, eyes widening. "I thought this was fake!"

The taller of the group rubbed his nose, shrugging. "Hey, don't ask me... And what's wrong with you, you look like you're seeing ghosts!"

"I don't want a cold, that's why!"

"Ooooh," Honda said with a grin, raising his hands as Shizuka sighed. "So then, if I were to give you this cold..."

"O-O-Oi! Stay away from me!" he shouted, backing away. "I don't want-"

"GERMS~!" Honda shouted, tackling the teen to the ground. "Germs! Join the sneezing, Otogi!"

“AAAHH, LET ME GO, LET ME GO!"

"Hahah..." The two both froze from what was a decidedly awkward position, turning as their third companion sighed. "Maybe one of the others is talking about us right now," Shizuka laughed, voice somewhat quiet as she looked back. "That's what's supposed to happen when you sneeze after all, hahaha... Nnn..." The smile faded somewhat, the girl turning away to hold her arms. "Hah... I wonder how they're doing... Nihan and the others," she continued, her friends both standing to brush themselves off.

"Ah... That..."

"They're probably in duels by now I would think," Ryuuji muttered, crossing his arms as Honda nodded.

"Yeah... Dueling the Big 5..."

Ryuuji watched as Shizuka stared, continuing on with a slight frown. "Right... And with five people, that leaves three of us eight to spare. Kaiba, Yugi, and Jonouchi are likely going to duel someone," he continued, crossing his arms in thought, "But after that there's no telling who they'll pick really..."

"Well, so long as there's some way for me to re-build my deck here, we should be fine," Shizuka said calmly, the others staring in confusion.

"E-Ehhh..?"

"S-Shizuka... You duel?" Ryuuji asked, eyes wide as the girl nodded.

"Of course! Keichi taught me while I was recovering. It'll take a bit to recognize the cards by sight rather than name of course," she said with a laugh, rubbing her head, "But other than that I don't think it'll be too hard to adapt the rules to this game... I certainly don't see any duel disks to use after all."

Um... Alright... W-Well then. "That... Makes sense I suppose," he said after a moment, Honda merely nodding in agreement. Not to mention it gave them a bit more of a chance at all this. "Well, until then, I suppose we should just move on right?"

"Y-Yeah... We should probably go," Honda began, only to stop the moment he turned around to do that. "Uhhhh..." The others followed his gaze, staring blankly at what had caught their friend's eye. "It's..."

"What... What the hell is this?" Ryuuji muttered, the trio staring with wide eyes at the object that had quite literally appeared from nowhere.

"It's... It's a door. Well, I mean, it looks like a door," Shizuka coughed, "But..."

Honda gave a slight tap with the muzzle of his now dry revolver, giving a shrug as he looked back to the others and replaced the weapon. "Feels like one at least."

"True, but everything feels 'real' here," Ryuuji countered, shaking his head with a frown. "Even if it doesn't look like it, it could still be a trap."

A small bit of silence hovered over the air at that, the others nodding in agreement before Shizuka stepped forward. "I don't know... I think this one is real," she muttered, reaching for the handle as the others tensed.

"Ah- Hold on," Honda shouted, "Don't-"

"AH-!"

And with blinding light the door was opened on its own, the scene before them evaporating into a silver mist.


	10. The End of the World

The cavern that they were walking through right now resembled a tunnel of sorts he thought to himself, staff clacking against the ground with each step. It was a tunnel he'd been in before as well, though where to and from it went he could not say. It was a very rugged tunnel though; stalactites and stalagmites both littered the cavern, and as they wandered they could see carvings all along the walls as well...

But unlike the carvings of the last memory, which bore no form of writing, he found himself able to read these ones, taking in lines of a story, of a myth. The beginning of the world, of Creation and Absence...

The sorts of stories meant for 'fairytales' as Seto would say. And of course he still didn't know how or why he could see everything. Hell he didn't even know what language it was, but the fact was he still recognized it, from rune to strange carved rune.

Even if no one else around him could.

"I wonder what they say," Anzu muttered as they walked, passing carvings of monsters and people both in a single path among the texts. "It looks almost like some kind of parade... Or a procession..." There was a grunt in the back of his mind, Katsuya momentarily freezing before his mental stowaway spoke.

" _...Please tell her she is far from correct,_ " the ghost growled, Katsuya laughing quietly as the snake did it for him.

"Pretty sure you're wrong," he was whispering, looking at the carvings almost in awe. "These... These are probably a creation myth, with a hell of a lot of worshippers," Ren continued, shaking his head. "...Damn... I've only heard of these from maybe one of the oldest scrolls in the crypts, and even then they were dismissed as 'stories'... How the hell are they here..?"

The later half of the comment was momentarily ignored, the 'other Yugi' turning to Ren with a frown. "...Crypts?" the boy asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow as the snake tensed.

"Err... What can I say," he laughed, seemingly hiding in Anzu's hair, "I get around a lot."

The boy continued to stare, blinking a few times. "I thought you were created from Anzu's soul..."

This resulted in a fair bit of silence from the snake, before it managed one of its incredible shoulder-less shrugs with another nervous laugh. "Well... What can I say! I pick up a lot of background noise."

Background noise? "Er... How does that even work?" the woman in question asked, a fair bit of chuckling coming from the back of Katsuya's mind as the blond also frowned. Oii oi, what was it now..? Was there something he was missing?

" _Ohhh it's nothing,_ " the spirit chuckled, before fading into silence with a laugh. " _Nothing at all..._ "

Right. He had a feeling that was bullshit, but whatever...

The blond shook his head, looking back at the carvings in an attempt to distract himself from the conversation. So many people and monsters...

The amount of text had decreased considerably, occasionally mentioning a 'city', along with 'sealed powers'... "Huh... Tha's weird," he muttered, stopping for a moment as he hit the center of the 'trail'.

The blond looked from the left to the right, frowning as he looked to the point where the lines of people and monsters met and began to face opposite directions. In the middle...

"Th' carvin's are dif'ren' on both sides..."

The others as well stopped, looking to the carvings in silence. "Hnnn... You're right," Yugi said, turning to the side opposite his friend as he stared at what looked to be a six pointed 'star' around some other form. "It looks as though the three God cards are depicted here," he continued as he traced three of the points, "Along with a disk of sorts..."

"A disk?" asked Ren, poking his head out from his partner's hair. "Where? Let me see."

The woman carrying him obliged, taking him to rest on Yugi's head as the serpent stared at the wall. "...Do you know something about that too Ren?" she asked, the snake nodding an affirmative.

"Yeah, easily; that's the sun disk," he explained clearly, turning to the others as he retreated back to his partner's arm. "It represents light and order... And I don't just mean 'Ra's light either. That thing represents all light."

"But if Ra is the Sun," Anzu asked with a frown, "Then how can the disk represent something else?"

The snake seemed to look at its partner incredulously, before coiling around her wrist with a pout. "I'm... I'm not saying anything," it muttered, shaking his head with wide and stunned eyes. "Nothing at all..."

"Hnn... If tha's th' sun-disk," Katsuya muttered, "Then th's..." Hell there wasn't anything there, save for 'black'. It was round like the disk, that was for sure, but all there was...

Was this.

" _And that's exactly what it is_ ," stated the voice in his mind, sounding almost faded while his friend stared. That's all that there ever had been. " _Nothing. Emptiness and Absence. True 'Darkness',_ " he muttered, the others turning somewhat to stare as he continued to study the carvings. And around it...

A serpent seated at the top left corner, a 'demon' standing at the right, and some sort of winged beast at the bottom, nigh-identical counter-parts standing at the other three points. Those of importance however, were the three large ones. "'Ziz'," he muttered, a hand tracing over the griffin and moving on, "'Behemoth'," he continued at the demon, "And 'Leviathan'..."

The serpent...

"A-Ah..." ...He said that out loud didn't he.

"H-Hang on now," 'Ren' choked, eyes wide with complete and utter shock. "You can read that?!"

Katsuya tensed, the others staring as he looked back. "U-Uhhh..." Shit. That was all he could think of.

Shit. "Well," Yugi muttered, attempting to cover for the blond, "I suppose it's... Only natural..."

"...How is that natural?" Anzu whispered, her friend continuing on despite the obvious confusion.

"Well... This is Jonouchi's head, right?" he asked, the others nodding slowly as he went on. "So, while we ourselves can't understand what's written here, wouldn't it make sense for him?"

"Err... Sure pal," Ren laughed, shock still over his face. "But... This is a little more than 'mental languages' here... I mean, this language is older than-"

"Ah... Y-Y' know what, I'm pretty sure Yugi's righ'," Katsuya laughed, shaking his head in an attempt to cut the conversation. "It's prob'ly nothin'..." Not that Ren was buying it of course...

"How the hell is this no-"

"Aaaaah! Hey," the blond shouted, running ahead as he cut the snake off with a grin. "We need t' find th' others! C'mon! Let's go!"

"Ah... R-Right..." Anzu blinked, looking somewhat nervously to Yugi with a frown as they began moving again. "Hey... Yugi," she whispered after a moment, despite being out of audible range, "Do you think Jonouchi is..."

"...I'm sure he'll explain when we're out of this place," he said calmly, the woman at his side still staring at the closed-lip responses she was getting. "We just need to trust him with that..." Trust him...

Right...

Sometimes, he really hated getting flashes of what he shouldn't have overheard.

* * *

When the light from the door passed it took a brief moment to remind herself that it wasn't real. That nothing they saw, heard, or felt was actually there, that it was all projections in her unconscious mind. It was helped along of course, by the fact that they'd stood in a field mere moments before. There was nothing in the world that could cause this sort of change in scenery. But even so a buzzing in the back of her mind continued to ask how much of this was really virtual, if any of this couldn't be, just in the slightest way, more than a hallucination.

"This... Is this the hangar," Honda was muttering, Otogi shaking his head from beside the teen as they walked in behind Shizuka.

"No... This room is different," he answered, the trio slowly stepping further into the wide and expansive metal building. "I don't even think it's a hangar... Just look!"

At this the three examined the area more closely, a false sun shining through windows in the ceiling up above. Bridges of sorts spanned the stories-high ceiling to bridge door to door, and beneath there was nothing but empty space and floors. The floor in question seemed divided, cut with lines spreading across in such away that it seemed it could come apart any moment. It was just an enormous, empty steel room.

This wasn't a hangar.

But even so Shizuka thought to herself, that didn't mean they'd failed right? It didn't mean that they had to look at this as a bad thing, right? "Well, we're out of that field at least," she offered positively, arms crossed behind her back as she smiled to the others. "So we've succeeded at one thing!"

"Ah... That's right!" Honda grinned, looking back toward the room as he took a few more steps forward. "Now all we need to do is look for the others, and-"

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Laughter cut them short.

The three looked up, watching with wide eyes as a figure materialized from a shower of sparks and light amid the sounds of chuckling. The being was enormous, even while half formed and shapeless in appearance. As the form was solidified they could see that it was made of mostly blackened metal, lined with gold plated rivets in a cloth like pattern. They could see green lights glimmering out from a black screen and mask, and any clothes that the robot wore were simply painted across its body in violet and red. But more importantly was the voice it used, chuckling as it came to tower before them on the floor.

"You kept me waiting quite a while," the 'man' laughed, sounding eerily familiar to one of the five who had trapped them there. "I've been waiting for you weaklings to get here for a long time... In fact, I was almost worried," the robot chuckled, lens eyes narrowing in an aperture fashion. "But here you are... So all is well." This...

"...Who are you?" Otogi shouted, daggers appearing in his hands the moment the machine appeared before them. "One of the 'Big 5'?"

The robot looked down upon the three, lenses shining with mirth despite the hat on its head shielding them from the sun. "Correct; Ota Soichiro, former Head of Technology and Development at Kaiba Corporation. At your... Service," he added with a low and humored tone, giving a mock bow toward the humans before him as they stared.

"You... What do you want with us?" Honda roared, his guns both raised in aim should their captor attack. "Trapping us here, and our friends as well... Just what kind of game are you playing?" he shouted, only to receive no answer. "You can't even show your face!" he snarled, "All you did was send in some kind of machine!"

Shizuka swallowed at the look on the robot's face, paling as it again laughed. Something told her that wasn't quite the case... "Hehehehehe... As if I would be so cowardly," Ota spat, the windows above darkening to leave the factory lights as their only guide throughout the building. "No... This is the face of my 'Deckmaster'," he called down, "The only body I have to call my own! A form I find reminds me of a time before that accursed 'Kaiba Seto' took command of the company oddly enough," he continued with a nod, "When I managed the Military Factory that you trash now know as 'Alcatraz'..."

"Alcatraz..." Honda and Otogi both traded looks, before looking back up as Shizuka swallowed. "Then, that ruin we saw from the airship..." That ruin was...

"It is exactly what you think," the robot sneered, bearing no visible mouth to show his emotion further than what his 'eyes' revealed. "While under the employ of 'Kaiba Gozaburo', that factory was my domain," he explained lowly. "It was the site of the manufacturing and testing both for any and all large scale devices, missiles, aircraft... Everything! I was ruthless with my work," Ota snarled, "And no matter what the cost, the job was always completed on time and above par. The 'devil's warden' they called me! But they did so with _respect_ ," he hissed, clenching his fists as rumbling came through the air. "And then _she_ happened..." Ah...

She? The trio frowned, before jumping as the ground below began to shake. Panels lowered at the center of the room, pulling back to reveal an enormous gap across the floor as the three hurriedly fled as far back into the room as they could. Below the ground immense heat rose upward in the form of steam, molten lava flowing below as the stiffling heat filled the air. On the sides more changes developed however, changes that were now brilliantly lit in the glow of the lava. Railings and walkways became more complex, separating and joining at awkward points that made no sense in how they supported the building. An obstacle course she realized, narrowing her eyes. The railings and support beams had created an obstacle course and net that only someone with a grappling hook, or a rope could hope to scale.

That or someone with wings... Not that she had any obviously.

"Gh... This room," Otogi whispered. "It's..."

"It's huge," she found herself muttering, before looking toward the robot with wide eyes. "But... Who... Who was he even talking about that brought this kind of hate..?"

The robot before them snorted, taking a slight fighting stance. "Hn! My problems are for another time, and for a different 'audience'," Ota growled, fists clenched as he shifted in the partial darkness. "For now it's time to fight! And as to my opponent," he continued, pointing an accusing finger forward from where the shadows hid his form, "It will be the one who stepped into my realm first! The woman; Kawai Shizuka!" K-

Her! He... He knew her name!

The girl stared up with wide eyes, swallowing somewhat as the others protested. "N-Now, now hold on a second," Honda shouted, stepping forward to gesture to himself with one of the revolvers. "Shizuka doesn't even have any weapons on her," he argued, "You can't expect a fair fight with that! It's not fair... Let me be your opponent!"

"No," Otogi announced, stepping forward as well. "Fight me! Honda doesn't even know how to duel," he pointed out with a frown, "You can hardly call a fight like that as fair as it would be against Shizuka!"

"O-Otogi," Honda hissed, turning on the teen. "What-"

Otogi frowned, looking to his friend with a growl. "Shut up and let me cover for you before you dig yourself a hole as deep as that one," he snarled, pointing to the chasm below.

"Gh- I'm not-"

"AhHAHAHAHAHA! How incredible... Like a family of squirrels all trying to defend each other..." Ota continued to leer at the three from the far end of the room, shaking his head. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Useless... All useless!" he roared, the gatling gun on his arm appearing to shift as he laughed. "No matter which one of you face me after all, the result will be the same! This armor cannot be pierced by any metal in this world, so in the end each of you will be forced to duel me... And in the end, each of you will lose," the robot sneered. "Success... Is simply not an option for you..."

Shizuka tensed, stepping back as her friends glared. "Tch... Damn this guy is confident," Honda muttered, holstering his weapons with narrowed eyes. "Figures that he'd only get the guts to face us in a giant robot..."

"Got that right... But we can't just let him pick us off either," his friend added, his own daggers misting out of existence with the distance and armor against his favor. "How about this?" he called up to their opponent, crossing his arms. "You fight Honda and I both; our abilities should be enough to balance the field from beginner to novice to 'mediocre' level, and if you win," Otogi continued, ignoring Honda's snarl at 'beginner', "You'll get both bodies, rather than just one... I'm sure your friend Noa could use one after all," he added convincingly, the others swallowing in unease.

The robot seemed to consider this only a moment, stroking its 'chin' in thought. "Hnnn... Tempting. But how about something a little more inclusive," he asked, bringing his hand back down to gesture forward. "We will fight one on three instead; myself against all of you."

"Th... Three?" Shizuka repeated quietly, the others growing pale. All three of them would be fighting?!

"Ah... But two bodies should be enough shouldn't it?" Otogi argued, eyes wide with protest. "What would a third possibly do for you!"

"Hn! That knowledge is mine and mine alone," Ota snarled, narrowing the lenses with clenched fists. "All you three need to know is that I want all of your bodies... And when you lose," he announced coldly, "That's just what I'll get!" Three...

Noa made sense, provided the being was even real, and Ota did as well... But why would he need three? "The others must have won," Honda muttered, swallowing as the arena seemed to continue to shift and twist in the haunting light of the magma below. "Kaiba, Jonouchi, and Yugi... They must have beaten their opponents," he continued, before jumping back as a panel at his side fell back from the floor. "Gh!"

There was no confirmation on the part of the Big 5 member, but there were no arguments against the fact either. "Scum such as yourselves should be fighting together regardless of reason," Ota was arguing from across them, drawing the thin blade at his side whilst the gatling gun on his arm adjusted and locked into position. "And besides... You should look on the 'bright side'! You can protect yourselves from damage this way. Why, you should even be grateful for the chance to survive this match longer, and for the chance to ensure you remain together all your lives!"

"Gh... Bastard," growled the boys beside her, Shizuka biting her lip. This...

This man... "You... Don't estimate me," she called up with a swallow, steeling her resolve as her hands glowed somewhat with magic. "I was taught the rules of this game by 'Dinosaur Ryuzaki' after all... 5th place in the Duelist Kingdom and Second Place holder of the Japanese Nationals! Honda-han," she continued, turning to the others, "And Otogi-han... I'll do my best, alright?" the girl shouted, eyes set with determination. "We won't lose!"

"A-Ah... S-Shizuka," Otogi muttered, "You can't-"

"But your weapons-"

"We're all as good as disarmed," she pressed, eyes shining in the light from below. "Blades and bullets won't affect him; if anything, as a magic wielder, I have the advantage now... We can only do the best we can in this situation for now!"

"Ah..."

"Hnhnhnhn... Pointless words," Ota chuckled in response, the others turning back with narrowed eyes as they were continually separated by the falling platforms of steel. "Nonetheless, the duel will begin! Pick your cards," he announced, domes of light and screens surrounding each of the three in their vastly spaced locations. "40 monsters, spells, and traps..." Of course. What else would they choose?

"E-Ehhh... ...S-Shizuka," Honda said from the side, the woman momentarily freezing at the variety of images that met her gaze before looking through them to the teen. "Are you sure about this? I mean... You said yourself that you'd never seen a duel until recently so..." Ah-

"Definitely," she shouted, nodding her head as she smiled. "It's taking a bit to recognize each card since I was blind when I built my deck, but... Well, I'll be alright," the girl pressed, nodding her head. "I just need to plan a little differently; since Keichi and I couldn't play with complete decks using mine, we took out powerful monsters to even the field... Moreover, we revealed our hands to each other, so that I would know what I held..." The others paled at this, swallowing and trading nervous glances.

"Y-You took out-" The screen around her vanished as she chose her last card, followed by the others own screens when she gave no answer to them. The decks were chosen-

"Good," commented the robot before them, adjusting his grip on the shining rapier he held. "You've chosen your cards... In that case, choose your deckmasters," he continued, a somewhat curved screen appearing around each of them. The deckmasters...

Right, she told herself, this was the additional condition of the game. "I pick the Strike Ninja," Otogi shouted shortly after the monsters floated across his screen, tight fitting vest and pants altering themselves to add the golden accessories and red scarves of his monster whilst the screens of light faded around him. The ninja. Able to activate face down cards during any turn and from any player's field, at the cost of 1000 lifepoints her mind told her, before another voice cut through the air.

"As for me, I choose Super Roboyarou," Honda had shouted, his own thread-bared and tanned clothing taking a more futuristic sheen to it as his own vest and 'belt' were replaced with a near knight-worthy breast-plate. Even his weapons were altered by the move, unable to be sheathed as bayonets grew from each revolver. Each 'blade' touched the bottom of the ground, blue tinted armor shimmering oddly in the light. A deckmaster that gained 1000 attack points in battle... And in addition, set a single face down card during that same moment of battle. Useful, that was for sure. And for hers...

The monsters across the screen hovered before her, and as their own abilities came to mind she stared. There were many powerful monsters that would boost her attack, but had little to call as an ability. Then there were weaker ones with exemplary ones, which would cripple her completely. For one with balance... "'Three Eyed Goddess-han," she called out, robes taking a green tinge as an 'eye' gem appeared on her headband. This card would prove handy if she drew the cards for Jean, or even her other fusion monsters she told herself, taking a deep breath as wings replaced her ears. But she would have to be careful, very careful until then, and...

"Shizuka," the others muttered, the girl turning to blink. "Shizuka," Honda continued, "There was no need for the 'han'..."

She turned, sighing as she shook her head. Whatever! It was just instinct, really! Across from them the few lights of the Robotic Knight were gleaming with anticipation, tracing the being's location in the darkness as they grew brighter in color.

"So you're ready then?" he called out, before more whirs and clicks filled the air to send the three off balance. Platforms beneath their feet began to move, taking their place in the bizarre 'obstacle course' in the air as the floor below revealed a complete plain of lava. Railings sprouted from the sides and as she gripped hers, she found herself looking down with wide and fear filled eyes. "Very well; allow me to explain a few rules," Ota continued, thrusters at the bottom of his feet keeping him in place as the floor beneath him opened as well. "At any given moment," he explained carefully, "You may use your monsters to divert an attack; however," he went on seriously, "You may NOT discuss any strategies, nor can you aid each other further than diversion outside of your turns. There will be no 'rushing' to someone's aid... Not in this battle," he spat, the others nodding with understanding. "We will take our turns in a counterclockwise fashion, starting from the woman and ending with me... So... Do you understand, 'Kawai-san'?" Ah-

The girl swallowed, barely catching herself as she continued to look over the platform with a nod. Lava burned from below, swirling in some sort of twisted pumpkin coloured broth. Otogi's 'field' created nothing but a solitary box at the far end, separate from any paths, with Honda's almost as bad thanks to the steep incline to the rafters above. She was going to be relied on for the offensive then she realized with a jolt, looking toward her opponent with wide eyes. She was going to have to make the first move, even if she didn't have any power to back her up... "Gh... I got it," she shouted nervously, a hand of cards appearing in her mind. This was her only shot...

"Good! DUEL START," the robot roared, pointing toward her as she pondered her options. "It's your move!" Right! She still needed a rope to move...

Like Otogi, her platform was isolated, bridged only to the wall behind them. But given the more physical nature of this fight she had just the idea, even if it meant opening herself up for attack..! "I summon the devil tamer," she shouted, running forward in an instant before kicking off from the edge of her platform. "Attack mode!"

"A- Shizuka..! What are you doing!" Otogi shouted from the side, the girl's monster appearing to catch her in her hand before swinging them both to the support beams above by means of her whip. "That monster's too weak to be in attack mode for no reason!" he continued, the tamer's form solidifying from the light that carried her as they charged into the maze of steel and wiring. She knew that...

And ordinarily that would have been a horrible move, but this wasn't for no reason. "STONE CHARGE, " the girl roared the moment her target came within range, firing the magic blast downward as her tamer took a slight defensive from behind her. "This battle... It's decided through the fight, not the points right?" she shouted down, hands glowing somewhat as Ota looked up from below in hidden rage. "So even if we can't use monsters to fight properly," the girl continued with a swallow, "There's still ourselves right?"

"Well... I guess," Honda shouted out, receiving a rather aggravated ' _You GUESS?_ ' from his friend in response. The teen scratched his head, shaking himself with a sigh. "Aaaaah... We'll figure it out!" he continued to shout, glancing to their only barely petrified opponent a moment before biting his lip. "Just sit tight until we're ready to go, alright? I don't think your spell is doing much to this guy..."

Well, seeing how her opponent's arm was regaining movement... He was definitely right about that she thought with a wince. "Got it," she answered, taking a slight crouch in the corner of the maze as her summoned partner. She'd just have to use these spells to stall off any attacks she told herself. Or perhaps just get it to attack her so she could learn a new one... (Though at that size, it could be dangerous...)

"I summon Cyber Commander in attack mode," Honda called out, the woman looking down as her thoughts were cut short. Cyber commander? The woman narrowed her eyes briefly, watching as the 80's styled soldier came to the field in a shower of light. That one... That one was even weaker than hers though she told herself, frowning somewhat. And Otogi seemed to realize that as well, shaking his head in disdain despite the obvious confidence Honda had in the move. Nonetheless the machine gun the monster wielded could prove handy, she thought to herself, provided they did this properly.

After all, Honda was fairly far from the field, which meant he would be difficult to reach. Then again, bullets apparently did 'nothing' so the attack mode wasn't much use... Otogi shook his head from the far corner of the field, waving his hand as it came to his turn. "I play the 'thirteenth grave' in defense mode," he announced clearly, a sword wielding skeleton appearing at his side with a curt nod whilst the light creating it solidified into darkened shadows. "And that's all!"

"Gh... Otogi, what are you doing," Honda hissed, the teen rolling his eyes at the question.

What was he doing? "What does it look like?" Well...

In all honesty, something helpful in her opinion! "Good move, Otogi-han!" she called out, Honda holding his head with a groan. "We can't just attack outright... So now we have defense, ranged attack, and close attack all ready to go!"

Honda jumped at that, looking up to Shizuka with wide eyes. "Ah- That's not why I'm-"

His protests were cut off, the robot before them chuckling at the sight of his opponent's scramble. "Hnhnhn... HAHAHAHA! So many assumptions!" he laughed, shaking his head as he cracked metal knuckles. "I'll show you to make such outrageous guesses! I summon the Giga-Tech Wolf," he announced, Shizuka turning with wide eyes as a light began developing on the beam beside them. "And following that," he continued, he beast solidifying in a threatening crouch across from herself and her monster, "I attack the Shadow Tamer!"

"Gh-! No!"

"GHA-"

"GAA _AAOOO_!"

Shizuka shielded her eyes as the 'wolf' charged, throwing the tamer off the side without even pausing as it attempted to defend her master. Sharp claws pierced her form, throwing her against the wall as she chocked and wheezed under the pressure, dully aware of her menu appearing at the side. "Gh-K! Hng..." That... On the side, from the attack... "Hng... Steel Guard!" she called out with a shout, the wolf abruptly thrown back across the room as a shimmering glass dome appeared around her. The girl slowly stood, lightly holding her scratched stomach with winded breaths as her monster's death took its toll. "Hah... Hah... Hah..." Second spell...

The second spell she told herself, a shield... "Hnhnhnhnhn... Impressive... Care to test its strength?" her opponent taunted from below, the woman turning to the side to pale as clicking met her ears. When she'd moved she'd come quite close to her opponent after all, in order to gain the distance needed to attack. So while the others were far from near and meters below the level of the enormous mecha's attack range, she most certainly was not.

She was in the 'critical' zone.

"I set a card," Ota announced coldly, "And then activate my deckmaster ability by discarding three machine type cards..." Oh no... The robot took aim, lens eyes narrowing with mirth. "Go... BARRAGE!"

The gatling gun on Ota's arm spun in an instant, rapid fire piercing through the girl's body as she stared. She could hear shouts from the others. The clattering of bullets as they bounced off the steel walls...

And only then could she hear the sound of the bullets themselves, a feeling of emptiness and stinging pain both rattling her body. But looking down at her bare stomach to see a red and gruesome mess by means of bullet fire, was what made her eyes widen with fear. It was bringing a hand to her form, to the scattering pock-marks of her now numerous wounds, that had her eyes watering in horror.

"Gh... Hng... Hgaaah..." The pain... If she didn't move much it didn't even hurt, but the pain alone... And the _blood_... The blood that was covering her hands, her clothes, the ground... "Nggggh... Nnggg..."

"S-SHIZUKA!" Honda called up, eyes wide as he coughed for a reason she couldn't identify for the moment. "SHIZUKA!" he continued with a somewhat garbled voice, "Hang in there!" Hng... H-Hang...

Hang in... "Shizuka! Are you alright?" asked Otogi, his own voice seemingly laced with fear despite the confidence he attempted to instill. "Are you okay?" O...

Okay..? OKAY? Of course she wasn't! "Gh... Nn..." Of course she wasn't alright, she wanted to shout! But instead...

Looking back, so were the others. "You... Honda-han, Otogi-han," she whispered in horror, staring at her friends bloodied and broken forms as they attempted to weakly stand from their own ashen positions.

The two both gave wincing smiles, Otogi being the first to speak despite his leg hanging at an awkward, snapped angle. "Shizuka... Stick to the life-point rules for now," he called up, his friend nodding in response as he examined the blades that had taken most of his attack. "Just until we figure something out, alright?"

The girl continued to stare in silence, before nervously nodding in understanding. "R-Right..." They...

They had to win. And then it would be over, everyone would be healed. After all she told herself, the others had been perfectly fine despite their battles right? Then...

"...It's my turn then," she choked, drops of blood spilling on the ground as she stumbled forward to grip the railing along the foot's width beam she was on. Defense she told herself, weakly throwing a hand up as a monster appeared beside her shield in a pillar of light. De... Fense... "...Merciful... Nun..."

"S-Shizuka," Otogi muttered, the girl in question leaning against the wall in pain as the nun turned to her in worry. "Shizuka!" he shouted up in panic, "You just summoned the nun in attack mode!" Shizuka's eyes flew open from their pain induced fatigue, the girl staring toward her nun in horror even as the woman's hands flowed with white magic. "Gh... A... A... But I called defense," she shouted in protest. "I summoned her directly... Directly from the menu," she cried, "She should have been..-"

"Hehehehe... Did you say it out loud?" Ota chuckled, the others swallowing in realization as the turn passed.

"Outloud... She can barely speak thanks to your last attack..." Otogi whispered in shock, "But she still has to say it..?"

"Gh... BASTARD!" Honda roared, gripping the railing at his stand in rage as the guns in his hand hung along it. "I call a re-play! You didn't say anything about this before, nothing!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't have 'assumed'," the robot sneered, waving the protests off with ease. "As it is," he continued coldly, "All moves are final. Now take yours!" he shouted, "Unless you'd prefer to pass!" Gh... Not good.

Shizuka looked down at her injuries, biting her lip as she held her bleeding stomach. The nun beside her was attempting to heal the damage. There wasn't much she could do beyond scar everything over, and looking at the monster she had to wonder what this meant for her friends. What the others would do in the meantime, when it came to their own injuries. But hang on she noted, frowning as she looked to Honda's corner of the field with those thoughts. The commander was gone...

Honda stood calmly and sternly as he hung one of his weapons on the side, but there was nothing else to be seen. So where... "Block Attack," Honda called out, holding a hand out for the spell to take effect from its wave of light. "And the monster I set in defense mode is-"

"Staying in attack mode," countered their opponent, his face down card shimmering into existence from the panel of glass it was. "Riyoku Field," he announced clearly, "Which means your spell is negated!" Negated...

Shizuka winced, biting her lip as her friend's attempt to fix her mistake was made useless. "Tch..! Bastard," Honda snarled, narrowing his eyes as both 'spells' vanished from sight. "End turn then," he continued. The teen crossed his arms in agitation, a shadow continuing to move from above as he growled. What...

What was that, Shizuka thought to herself, narrowing her eyes as the thing continued to move. That shadow...

What was it... "It's my turn now!" shouted Otogi, cutting the girl's thoughts as another pillar of light shimmered at his corner. "I summon another monster, Yaranzo, in defense mode," he stated, Honda again turning on him with a glare.

"Gh... Come on man," he muttered almost desperately, "Help me out here!"

Otogi however merely frowned, gesturing to his leg before receiving more complaints. "Hah... This is all I can do, idiot... I'm not going on a suicide mission."

"Well do something damn it!"

"Like what?" "Gh... ANYTHING!"

Shizuka closed her eyes, shaking her head as the two argued. Really... She told them not to argue... "Ojou-san," stated a calm voice, the girl looking up again as her nun stood above her. "I've done all I can; there is scarring, but there should no longer be any pain either." Ah...

The girl looked down at herself, standing up straight with wide eyes at the faint 'craters' across her body and torn clothes. "Ah... T-Thank-"

"Machine King!" Oh no... "Attack the Nun!" came a loud shout, Shizuka's eyes widening as she looked behind the woman. Ota's turn. It was Ota's turn she realized with horror, and in the place of the Giga-Tech Wolf stood a silver and red robot with a cannon pointed directly toward them from the far end of the room. A robot whose power increased thanks to its own presence, to the Deckmaster's even. Whose power was charging now, preparing to blast them into oblivion...

"Like HELL!" came Honda's shout, the teen pointing forward with a scowl. "Now Commander," he ordered, Otogi's hurried protests drowned out by his friend, "Take the attack!"

In an instant the moving shadow charged, tackling the king from it's narrow beam to force it to grip the railing in desperation. " _HAAH_!" The sound of a canon came through the air...

Looking over the edge Shizuka winced, watching as Honda's monster fell toward the lava with a singed hole directly through its body, the rest of him catching fire the instant it touched the liquid below. The 'Machine King however, even after falling from the beam himself...

He survived.

Thrusters sent it right back to the beams above, with the robot turning its blue lensed eyes toward her as she shuddered in fear. The robot wouldn't attack any more. It wasn't its turn, and it was programmed to do only so much. But this... "Gh..." Not good. Her wounds had stopped bleeding and hurting but as she stood she knew full well just how much trouble they were in, and just how likely it was that another round was coming. "Honda-han," she called down, watching as the teen bit back a wince. "Why... You.."

"You IDIOT!" Otogi roared, looking to his friend with a worried and incensed glare. "I was about to use one of my defense monsters to take that attack! Are you trying to get killed?"

Honda merely snorted, forcing a smirk on his face. "You defend? And just how were you going to do that," he countered, pointing to the above. "Your monsters are still sitting at your side, Shizuka's on the ceiling!"

"Gh... Speed doesn't play into this!" Otogi cried in protest, "Both of the monsters are ghosts! Didn't you wonder why I was picking undead monsters?" Ah..?

Hang on, this wasn't normal? ...Oh... Oh that was right. Otogi liked dragons didn't he, she told herself. So then of course the ghosts would be there for a reason, of course...

"Gh... Otogi," Honda growled, gripping his weapons tightly as his face grew red, "It would have been really, REALLY nice to know that before hand!"

"Well it's not like I could have told you," the teen argued with a sigh, "We aren't allowed to strategize..."

"STILL... You could have just... I don't know, said something, or-"

"My turn isn't over," Ota warned, chuckling echoing through the air with a menacing tone. The trio looked back as the conversation was cut short, listening as a familiar sounds of clicks and whirs came to the air. "I still have three machine cards in my hand after all. So, after setting this card," he continued with a laugh, the glass panel appearing at his side, "I'll be discarding them! Now... Activating the ability again," he announced, flashes escaping the gatling gun as Shizuka threw her arms up in defense. "BARRAGE!" AHH-

Rapid sounds of gunfire came through the air, Shizuka ducking and crying as her just barely healed wounds were opened by shots from the side. Again the bullets were falling to the ground, and again the blood was spilling. But this time it somehow seemed more painful, as though each one brought them closer to the edge of death no matter how equal the fatality of the move was. But more alarmingly...

As the bullets pierced her shield, shattering it into pieces she found herself holding her middle and crying in response to the pain that caught up to her just now. "Ng... NNGGGH... GHAAAAAAHH! AAAAHH!"

"HRAAGH! DAMN IT!"

"RAAAAAGHH!" The others...

Honda weakly pulled himself from the railing he was thrown against by the force of the bullets against the weapons used to block it, Otogi forced to sit almost completely motionlessly as Shizuka coughed.

"S-Shizuka," Honda called up, wiping blood from his mouth as he looked to the few places the bullets made it through. "Gh... Shizuka!" The girl fell to a seat against the narrow railing, tears streaming freely down her face. The others... She couldn't let them worry, she couldn't...

"I... I'll be fine!" she shouted, weakly placing a hand on her Nun monster before gasping in pain. "I... I'll be fine... I just need to recover," she continued, the nun doing all she could as she stumbled back to her feet. "I... I just need time... To recover... Hng..." Her turn she told herself, a shaking hand pointed forward as her wounds slowly melted into deep and cavernous scars across her abdomen and chest. Her turn... "L-Lady Panther, in defense mode," she forced out, the leopard rising from a shower of pixels to catch her summoner before she fell forward. The girl gasped for breath as she was pulled upward, holding the monster's arm for support. Hah... This would work. She would be safe now, this would work... "End turn," she called out, breathing haggardly despite her wounds being healed. Gh...

Not good... There was even something in her hand that could stop all of this, and yet without the right spell...

Honda bit his lip from below as it came to his turn, before shaking himself off to hold a hand out and make his play. "Tch... I summon Command Angel, in defense mode," he announced, pillars of lava erupting around them as they made their moves. As the light showered and revealed the young and female warrior the last of their team nodded, holding out a weakened hand to bring about his third shield.

"Dark Assailant," Otogi stated for his own turn, the black-op garbed skeleton fading into existence from a series of lights and pixels, "Also defense mode..." End turn.

Ota's lens-eyes seemed to narrow in the dull lighting, the robot shaking his head at the immense wall before him. "Hn! Is that all you can do then?" he laughed, the trio frowning in response.

"All we can do..." What did he mean... What did he mean by that! "You... This is an entire wall of defense monsters!" Otogi shouted through a fit of coughs, narrowing his eyes as he grimaced. "Moreover," the teen argued, "You've been abusing your deckmaster ability from the start; you don't have any monsters to discard," he pointed out, "Which means you can't attack us with that weapon!"

Honda appeared to frown at this, turning toward his friend with a somewhat odd expression on his face. "You... You thought that far ahead?" he muttered, the teen not responding as Shizuka smiled from above. Of course. Of course... This-

"Tributes... Otogi-han, you've been gathering tributes haven't you!" she shouted with wide eyes, leaning over the railing on her 'bridge' as she cheered. "On your next turn, you can summon a high level monster, even if one is destroyed... That's great! That's incredible!"

"Hnhnhnhnhnhn..." More chuckling came over the air, Shizuka turning to frown in response. Well... She...

She'd thought it was great anyhow... Obviously someone didn't though.

"You're all just too naive for your own good," Ota sneered, shaking his head from across the three. "You've forgotten that I have a card here... A trap at that! Activate Backup Soldier!" he announced chillingly, the panel shimmering as his gatling gun began to spin once more in preparation for whatever he had done. "This card brings three monsters back from my grave... But they'll just be used once again, and for exactly what you would expect! I send them back to the graveyard," the robot roared, Shizuka stepping back somewhat as the gun pointed upward. "Again activating my ability! BARRAGE!" Gh-

"Glhk!" The bullets pounded the air with their noise, the steel scattering across her chest and arm as she fell to one knee in shock. Her shield was no longer there to defend her. Whatever held her together now was merely magic, and had it not been for the 'cloak' over her shoulders there would be nothing to hide the bloody mess that was her torso. "Gk... Hng..! Nhhhggg..!" Her body... She couldn't see the others, she was too busy looking down in horror. Everything, everything the bullets pierced through... "N-N... Gk..." She couldn't even scream. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't... "Nh..!"

"Y-You... You monster..." Otogi spat, narrowing his eyes as the ghosts before them shook off the bullets they'd caught. "You MONSTER!"

The comment seemed to receive no real response however, Ota merely chuckling in regards to the carnage he'd sown. "Hnhnhnhnhn... I'll take that as a compliment," he sneered, a pair of shimmering panels appearing to the field as Shizuka's monsters hurriedly did what they could about her wounds. "You see when all this is over, it will no longer apply... Not to me at least. It's now my turn," he stated plainly, his nearest opponent grimacing in pain as the flesh across her body was just barely restored, "And I'll be playing these; first," he began, "Clockwork Night! Turning all monsters presently on the field into machines, while taking 500 of their attack points... Granting each of mine 500!" the robot laughed, his Machine King seeming to grow with power at an alarming rate as each monster on the field became coated in metal. The nun's white hands abruptly pulled back half-way through their work, the woman's master staring in horror as she stood. No...

Machines couldn't use magic, her nun was...

But then what about her? As Shizuka turned to look to her opponent with wide eyes the monster seemed to grin, eyes still narrowed with mirth. "Deckmasters are excluded from this of course," he chuckled, watching as his opponent shuddered in fear. "But only yours. I'll still gain the same attack bonus after all. Not that it matters! The Machine King now has 3400 attack points... And combining that with this," he continued, the second panel melting to the air, "The spell 'Short Circuit', I guarantee one of your losses! All monsters are forced into attack position," Ota explained, Shizuka paling in fear as the monsters beside her gained an eerie look in their now glassy eyes, "Unable to defend, or even attack! So now," he thundered, the gravity of the situation pressing further and further on the duelists, "Where do you scum think you stand!" No...

No... No..!

"H-H... Hahh... Ahhhhih..." There were shouts behind her as the Machine King rose up, she knew that much. Panicked cries and shouts of anger as their 'weakest link' was targeted, herded toward the crossroads at the bridge with no railing...

And as she stepped back she slipped, screaming, falling toward the lava, tears running down her face as the Machine King stared from above...

"HHAAAHH! HAAAAAAAHH! HAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"Command Angel!" Honda shouted abruptly, Shizuka's teary eyes catching sight of a blur whilst she fell. "CATCH HER!" Catch..?

As a blast of energy narrowly passed her she could feel strong arms beneath her, a young soldier's face catching her eye. Gunshots...

She could hear gunshots as well, but where...

"I'm taking the attack," Honda said coldly, having jumped from the angel's back to stand before the Machine King. There were burn marks over the armor now, where bullets had struck, and as he looked back he tossed one of the pistols toward them, the gun-blade shifting into a panel of glass before he brought his second one to his defense. "I activate my ability!" he shouted with a swallow. "Setting a card face down... ...Otogi!" the teen shouted further, Shizuka placed in on a random portion of the bridges as their friend struggled to block the Machine King's angered retaliation. "This is the best I could do... And I'm sorry I didn't think of anything else sooner."

Otogi was white as a sheet. "Honda," he whispered, staring with wide eyes as their friend forced the Machine King back with the blade. "Honda, what are you-"

"Look after Shizuka before Jonouchi gets here, promise me that, alright?" he asked, the robot before him charging his attack. Look after...

No... NO! "HONDA-HAN!" she screamed, before the light of the canon obscured their friend's wincing and pained smile from view. "HONDA-HAN!"

There was no arguing.

With that the teen closed his eyes, his last gun falling to the lava below as a hole burned through his armor. As fires erupted on his form below, a single hand briefly visible above the 'waves'.

"H-HONDA-HAN!"

And in that moment... He was gone.

"HONDA-KUN!"

* * *

Someone was screaming, he'd realized in an instant. Someone familiar. But it seemed faint... Faint enough that he couldn't tell if it was a vision or a ruse, leaving him silent.

And then he heard it again.

_'HONDA-HAAAAN!'_

Katsuya tensed as the call became clearer still, head jerking upward with wide eyes. "Hey," he muttered with a swallow, the others stopping behind him as he stared almost blankly to the stalactites before them. "Did you... Did you hear tha'..?"

"Hear..? Hear what," Anzu began, before yet another scream tore through the air.

_'HONDA-HAN!'_

_'HONDA-KUN!'_

The others tensed as the next screams tore through the air, louder than the last by an incredible feat of volume and clearly despaired in tone.

"A-Ah... That... That was Shizuka!" the woman realized with a start, looking back down as her friend grew white in regards to the screams. "And then after that..."

"Otogi," Yugi muttered, gritting his teeth as his own eyes widened. "Otogi and Shizuka..." Then...

If they could hear both... "Hey... Don't tell me they're in a fight at the same time," muttered Ren, staring forward with a frown. "Two on One seems great when you hear it, that's true," he hissed, "But there are certain systems that turn that right around... If whoever they're against knows these tricks, they're screwed..." Gh...

Maybe so. But then what did it mean for a larger number? "It's not jus' two," he muttered fearfully, Yugi turning with a slight frown as the blond swallowed. "It's not- We gotta move!" he shouted, charging down the tunnel with wide eyes as the feeling of dread he held increased drastically. "I got a bad feeling, we need to find those guys now..!"

"Ah- J-Jonouchi!" Anzu protested, nonetheless charging after him as Yugi followed behind them. "Jonouchi," she repeated with wide eyes, "How do you even know where we're going, we've passed at least three forks in the tunnels so far!" He couldn't answer that. Not now...

He couldn't! "I jus' know!" he shouted back, praying that she didn't say anything more. "Trus' me... I just 'know'! Now c'mon," the blond continued with a shout, "This way! There ain't much time!"

"Not much time? What do you- O-OI! Jonouchi! What are you talking about!"

There was no answer as the blond ran, Katsuya gritting his teeth as he charged on. After all...

While he didn't know why, there was going to be a door at the end of this tunnel. And that door would only be open for so long.

* * *

When people told him that it was impossible to understand a soldier's past, she'd never put much thought into it. Wars from times past weren't much her concern outside of class work and medicinal relevance after all; there was no time to focus on such things when her main focus was exams and tests. Fiction always explained that the trauma of war was too much for most people to bear she found. That in the end it could drive someone insane, into depression, madness, or worse. She'd thought that, if she were ever to experience such a feeling, it would be by some freak accident, a chance occurrence that destroyed anything in it's path.

She hadn't expected to experience it this soon, or at all really. And certainly not in this way.

Not in a 'game', a creation of wires and mechanics... In a virtual world where her body survived after nearly being severed by gunfire, where her friend's body could keep living after his leg was in tatters and his chest shredded. That alone would remain in her nightmares, the sight of Otogi's limp body struggling to hold consciousness at the side while she herself stood with a gruesome mess of a torso.

But this scene would affect them far more, that was for sure.

"Honda-kun," Otogi repeated, swallowing back a scream as he looked to the spot where his body had fallen to the molten sea below. "He..."

"He's dead," Shizuka whispered, hand on her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. The girl had been dropped somewhat closer to Otogi's spot, and even with the teen's wall of monsters he could see the sheer terror in her eyes. "He's dead," she was repeating in horror, "He sacrificed himself... He sacrificed himself for me, he... Hng...! Gnh..!"

"As I recall," a grating voice from above muttered, Shizuka clutching the railing in tears as she doubled over in shock, "It was your turn 'little girl'..." Her turn...

Her turn... He expected her to fight even now?

_'Stand up,_ ' Otogi was shouting, the girl's eyes still wide and unblinking as she cried. _'Stand up, please! We have to fight_!' She couldn't...

She couldn't, she could see nothing but blood running down her front, staining cloth and ground alike... Her stomach had been healed by the Nun, true, but everything else remained, she couldn't!

_'Well,'_ spoke another voice, the girl dully recognizing it as Ota as she gripped her head and cried, ' _What's taking so long now?_ ' She couldn't... She couldn't!

"Shizuka... Shizuka!" her friend shouted, "You need to be strong! Come on!" Strong...

Honda had been doing alright, all his moves were done to protect her... Attempting to lure the competition, jumping in the direct path even...

Honda had been strong. And while he might not have been a duelist, he'd at least held himself decently enough when it came to trying to help. And now...

"Ng... Nggh..." Now he was dead.

She didn't care if it was real or not, she'd watched him fall and burn, and with that his body was good as gone. He was dead. Dead before he'd even reached the lava below, and she'd killed him, if not indirectly. What could she do...

What could she do! _'Shall we pass?_ ' Ota was asking, the robot's male opponent clenching his fists as he turned back to his partner.

"Shizuka... Come on!" he shouted, gripping the railing at the side to pull himself up somewhat. "If we win we might get him back, so come on! Stand and FIGHT! PLEASE!" She couldn't though! She couldn't she couldn't move, even if she wanted, she couldn't...

Move... She was...

Shaking her head, she couldn't do this, she just couldn't, and-

"...Fine," Otogi sighed, looking away in slight understanding. "It's my turn. It's the least I can do... But I won't waste Honda's efforts! First," he announced, tossing a dagger at one of his monsters, as the painted skeleton vanished from sight, "I use the spell Worm Hole to remove my Assailant from play!" Remove..?

But why would he do that... That barely did a thing...

"100 less attack points makes little difference to the King's power," Ota snorted, shaking his head. "If that's all you have, you're about to be sorely disappointed..."

"Who said I was done?" the teen asked darkly, his monsters stepping to the side as he held a hand forward. In an instant, the field was coated with a glass sheet, a grid drawing itself over the glass. With a still outstretched hand the entirety of the lava below was trapped, fogging and smoking up the grid until it resembled a black board lined in silver. "This is the field spell 'Dice Dungeon'!" Otogi explained, a dark frown on his face. "Where only one monster from each player can fight, and where the winner is decided by the roll of a die. And believe me when I say," the teen continued lowly, "I know a few things about dice... Remember that card I set earlier?" he asked, eyes narrowed as their opponent stared to the field in surprise. That card...

Before there could be an answer the robot across the field froze, landing on the glass floor with shaking hands. "Gh... You... You're Otogi Ryuuji aren't you?" Ota spat, shaking his head in shock. "To think you were involved in this. Last I heard your family's business went out of work just months ago... Yet you managed to turn your game into reality anyways?" he shouted in question, lenses widening considerably with the call.

Otogi nodded, crossing his arms from where he sat. "That's right; shortly after the game fell through, I sent a request to 12 industries to make some way for it to come into reality. I hadn't gotten a response back, and had planned on using them as a surprise to Yugi... But when I saw the cards on the list here, I realized they'd done it; and I'd be a fool to ignore a chance for myself to use my full ability in a match as important as this. Now..." The glass panel at his side burst into a blinding light, Otogi's voice echoing through the air. "I use the set card 'Dimension Dice'!” he announced, "Tributing Yaranzo and the 13th Grave to special summon Orgoth the Relentless! But while the attack power difference is still staggering," he continued, the enormous armed monster appearing with a massive sword on the glass field, "I'm going to attack! Activate the effect of the Dice Dungeon!" Otogi roared, throwing his hand forward as a die appeared from it. "And roll the die!"

"Tch... Then I suppose I have no choice, now do I?" the robot growled, 'tossing' his own die forward as the opponents looked to the board. Both die, increasing in size as they tumbled, clattered across the ground, clacking and bouncing off whatever was in their way before the falling to a stop. "...Damn it... 1," Ota muttered darkly, the Machine King at his side seeming to shrink. "Lose 1000 attack points..."

"And in my case," Otogi said with a smirk, "I rolled six; which means Orgoth's attack doubles! Orgoth," the teen ordered, pointing forward as the blade in his monster's hand shone with power. "Attack the Machine King; DIAMOND BLADE!"

The sounds of the Machine King's destruction riddled the air, eerie light filling it from the lava below as the scrap metal monster was torn cleanly in two. Shizuka was still holding her head, not looking at the field. The bullet wounds riddling her body were still bleeding even though she should have long bled out, even though the shock alone should have killed her by this point. She was scared...

She was so scared...

_'This isn't the world I wanted to see,_ ' she whispered to herself, crying as their opponent took his next move. ' _This isn't the world I want to live in..!'_ She didn't want this, nothing of it, nothing! Ota was chuckling now...

Coming closer and closer, until he stood just meters away from them.

"Hehehehehe... HAHAHAHA! It looks like I'll be fighting you from here on out," the robot laughed, reflection shining on the ashen glass beneath them. "I don't have any more monsters to throw at you... All I have," he continued, metal shifting in colour and form as he held out a hand, "Is this; the spell 'Recycling Plant!" Ota called out, metal pulling off and up from the scrap that was his Machine King. "Taking one monster from my graveyard and fusing it with myself! And by merging with the Machine King," the robot thundered, growing in size and strength to break through the ceiling and walls. "I gain all of his abilities, and then some! My attack rises by 500 points for each machine on the field... Another five hundred for my spell... And in addition," Ota roared, now resembling an enormous tower sized mecha as it stood beneath a starry night sky, "There still stands to say what the next roll of the dice will do! I ATTACK!" he snarled, new cannon arm swung to his side as he threw his other hand forward. "Roll the DICE!"

"Tch... Go then!" Otogi shouted, seemingly tossing a dagger forward as a die clattered to the ground in response. From the glass below a single number could be seen, and as Orogth's power diminished the teen winced. "Gh- Shit," he muttered, biting his lip. "One..."

"And as for myself," his opponent sneered, "A five. My attack power is halved... But that matters little for now," he cackled, rising into the air as he took aim with his cannon. "My power still dwarfs yours completely, and with this I can be rid of your troublesome 'dice'! THUNDER BARRAGE!" he roared, the blast tearing through the air to crack the field with its heat.

"Nh... NRA _AAAAAAHHHHH!_ " Screams echoed through the air.

Shizuka shut her eyes, willing herself not to look as Otogi was struck down by whatever firepower his Orgoth couldn't handle. "GHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Screams and pain, screams and pain, screams...

The light was almost blinding, hiding the carnage from view as glass shattered and fell to the molten lava below. Screams... Screams...

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Stop it... Someone, please, stop it..!

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Looks like you have nothing else to look to for 'hope'," Ota chuckled, shaking his head from where he hovered in the air. "Your life points are at a minimum, both of you... And I now wield a power you could not hope to defeat. You may have invented 'D-D-D'," he continued, Otogi weakly pulling himself to all 'fours' as he struggled to breathe, "And you may be heralded as a prodigy in the field of games and development, but when it comes to matters of war and strategy I won't take you lightly. I will fight until the last breath, and I will show no mercy... Because to get my vengeance," he spat, Shizuka staring in fear as tears rolled down her ash covered face, "It's more than necessary..."

No, Shizuka repeated in her mind, listening as laughter continued to shake through the air. No...

Someone... Anyone!

Please, stop this!

* * *

The desert they travelled had proved almost completely barren for the past amount of immeasurable time. As Noa had said there were no living things to be seen for as far as the eye could see. No 'NPC's, no monsters, no animals...

There wasn't even a cactus. Seto and Mokuba had opted to walk rather then run despite the relatively easy to traverse terrain however; for some reason it seemed that running only made the journey more difficult despite logic pointing to the act making it easier, and it was at least true that with this they could keep track of any landmarks.

Landmarks such as the steel that was beginning to litter the ground, or the remains of weapons and tanks. "This..." Pieces of plastic along with bullet casings, taking the place of rocks and stone cliffs. A few seconds ago they had been in the Sahara desert.

But now, it was fairly obvious that they were far from the desert. "Ah... Nee-sama," Mokuba shouted, pointing ahead from where he'd run to the top of the scrap-covered sand hill. "Look!"

The woman frowned, moving forward as she peered over the hill with narrowed eyes. A factory stood before them. A number of tall buildings and warehouses, along with a large partially ruined factory, a night sky settling above it as it slowly shrouded the 'city' with fog. Impossible...

Absolutely impossible...

"Alcatraz," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as the memory of the place filled the air. As the memory of the hate she'd held for it returned, and as the memory of what she had done to exercise that hate came to mind. She'd been sitting in her new office, just a day or so into her position as CEO over KaibaCorp. Changes were being put into play, no matter what those about the work place said. People were replaced, trained...

It was a high cost, but it was well worth it in the end. At that time however there were still many things to do.

And this was one of them.

_'Bring in Soichiro Ota,'_ she could remember saying. There had been something she wanted to do... Something that needed to be done... Something that intensified and grew to a complete obsession later on she realized. ' _I want you to prove your loyalty to myself and this company_ ,' she'd told him with a cold, grating tone when the man had come in, clearly confused despite his polite demeanour. ' _I want you to destroy the entirety of the island used to manufacture our large scale machines, as soon as possible and as cleanly as possible._ '

Ota, of course, stared in shock. The building had been his pride and joy, something he'd worked to upgrade and control for his entire stay at the company. ' _Destroy_ ,' he'd repeated, eyes wide as they met with her own apathetic gaze. ' _You want me to destroy my-_ '

_'It's my factory now,'_ she'd reminded him, leaning back on her chair with a glare. ' _Not yours_.'

There had been no further argument after that, none at all. And as the memory faded she shook her head, realizing that rather than simply 'reminiscing' she'd been shown the entire thing on display. But why...

Why was Noa showing them this memory, she thought with a growl. Destroying Alcatraz was something she considered an accomplishment, not a weakness! So why... Why was it-

"Tch... Noa... Show yourself already!" she snarled, looking up to the sky to receive no answer.

Mokuba as well seemed to scowl, before the sound of Ota's voice pulled their attention forward and the scene again melted into a separate image. This day...

A fair amount of time later, after final bits of demolition had been completed. After she'd begun school at 'Domino High', after she'd dueled against Yugi for the first time... Needless to say she was worse off than before, and possibly considered demonic by those working for her at that point. It was a similar scene to just before; she sat at her desk, phone in hand...

And on the other end, her head of technology spoke. _'It is done_ ,' Ota told her, receiving a slight flash of dull approval in the woman's eyes for his efforts. The expression could not be seen of course; Ota was still on site, staring at the ruins in shock, as though having murdered a close friend or family member. _'Alcatraz is destroyed_ ,' the man had continued stiffly, ' _As ordered._ '

She could remember the tainted accomplishment she'd had that day. Something that should have furthered her dream was only pulling her back, all for the sake of that duel she had fought without any honor at all.

And all through that time she'd never once realized how far gone she was going. ' _Good_ ,' she had said bluntly, simultaneously dealing with whatever else work there was to deal with. _'It's official then; starting today,_ ' she had announced, ' _The Military Department of this company is fully annulled; we begin development on Solid Vision software now_.' Ota's reaction was almost hesitant. He'd seen this coming of course, and both himself and a majority of the other board members had only barely hidden their distaste.

But now was his final chance. ' _And... Me?_ ' he'd asked, _'I will be doing..?_ '

Absolutely nothing, that was what. ' _You can handle the materials for this next project; upon the ruins you have made, I will be building a structure known as the 'Duel Tower',_ ' she'd told him, preparing to hang up the phone. ' _Don't argue, and don't complain- listen to every word the engineer says, understand? This tower will be incredibly important in the future._ '

_'Gh... I...'_ Stuttering hit the air, Ota unable to completely respond to the unofficial demotion. ' _...You..!_ '

_'That is all, Ota; good bye.'_

With that the phone clicked off, the scene vanishing from sight. Yes... That was all. And as Seto narrowed her eyes, it took a few moments to pull herself from those thoughts in order to follow her brother toward the 'city' the rubble had created.

* * *

_'Shizuka,_ ' a voice was calling, the girl still curled into herself as she cried. She'd been frozen this way since Ota's attack. Staring, just staring. There was nothing...

There was nothing she could do any more, nothing at all... ' _Shizuka... Take your turn,'_ the voice continued in the distance, ' _It's your turn..!_ ' She hadn't even drawn a card yet...

What good would it do, Otogi was going to die now! She was petrified... Useless... ' _Shizuka..._ '

"SHIZUKA!" Her friend's shouts rang through the air, accented by Ota's chuckling beneath the night sky. "PLEASE!" Otogi roared, eyes wide as his partner stood frozen on her knees. "Don't let Honda's sacrifice be in vain, you need to fight! Please!"

And just what was there to do she asked herself, not answering the teen's calls. She couldn't move, she was in pain... Blood coated her hands, stained her clothes, or rather what was left of them...

_'Hurry up,_ ' Ota was snarling, now blue lenses shuttered in annoyance, ' _Or are you unable to fight any longer?_ ' And again, the shouts...

"STAND UP! Please... Shizuka!" Otagi cried, "If you give in it's all over! You need to fight to the end, you need to get up..! Please!" She knew... She knew that...

She knew she had to do something, anything...

But as she cried, lips viced between her teeth all she could do was shudder under the scent of her own blood. She was scared. Scared... More than she had ever been in her entire life, more than she could bear. Another way, there was another way her brother would say, but what other way could there be? The chances of drawing the card she needed were nil... One in 30 at the least.

She was dead in the water, good as gone, there was _NOTHING_ -

"It looks as though your friend is still unable to fight," Ota chuckled, Shizuka merely holding herself close as her eyes continued to dance with an intense and petrifying fear. "Shall we pass her turn?" Pass? But then Otogi would-

"No one's passing any turns right now," the teen snarled, looking back to his friend and biting his lip. Otogi...

Otogi, he was next... He...

"Shizuka... Come on! You can get up! You've played against Ryuzaki haven't you?" She almost nodded in response to the statement, slowly turning with a swallow. "That's right... And you watched Jonouchi fight outside, against 'Rishid'... Just think," he continued, Shizuka's eyes briefly widening with focus. "Would they have given in, even after this? Would they have let their turn pass over and just 'die'?" They...

They would... No...

No. "No," she whispered, slowly standing upright with a swallow despite grievous wounds across her front. "No, they wouldn't... They would never give up!" she shouted, eyes wide as she recalled her brother's words from his own duel, swallowing back her fear despite the expression she held giving it away. "Not even if they lost! They wouldn't! I... I'll still fight!" she roared, the monsters she'd left on the rafters above nodding with approval. "Until my last breath," the girl announced determinedly, "I'll fight!"

And at that moment, they heard the door open.

"A-Ah... No way," Otogi muttered, an enormous door appearing above them and to their side. "That..."

"Eh..?" What-

"WOAAAHHH shit!"

The first to run through hurriedly grabbed the edge of the hall he'd come in from, pulling himself up into the door way with a swallow. The door in question was wide, and at least large enough for a truck to pass through. As to the 'door'...

Well, it would probably be more accurate to define the entrance as a 'hole'. "Man! What th' hell 's tha'?" the tallest of the group muttered, Shizuka squinting through the darkness. That... That voice!

The girl's eyes widened as they met with blond hair and a red cloak, her brother and two others standing in a door way high above them. Yugi stood behind his friend, dressed in a mix of tanned leather and cloth. Anzu gripped a staff, black cloak falling formlessly over her. But more importantly, at the front... "A-Ahh... KATSUYA-NIHAN!" She turned to face her brother, tears running freely yet again as she sniffed. "Gh... KATSUYA!"

"Oh- AHH! Shizuka!" the blond shouted with a grin, before the expression fell completely flat with horror. "Oh my... S-Shizuka..! Shizuka!" he screamed, "What happened..! What!"

"Oh my god they're both soaked in blood!" Anzu cried, Otogi in question looking himself over with a wince. "How are they even alive!"

"What the hell's goin' on?" Katsuya muttered with a swallow, gripping the 'doorframe' to look for their opponent. "WHAT IS THIS!?" he snarled, pointing down to his friends as he faced the robot above.

Tears ran down Shizuka's cheeks as a smile continued to sit on her face, despite all shouts her brother was giving. He was here... She didn't care what she looked like right now, or what the situation was...

Her brother was here! He was here!

"So the 'champions' finally arrive," Ota sneered, still higher in position than the others as he gleamed in the night sky. "Hn! You're just in time!" he announced, the three in the door jumping back as a sheet of thick glass came across it to lock them in place, "You can watch your friends die!"

"Di- O-OI! Let us outta here!" Katsuya snarled, pounding the glass as the others looked down with wide eyes. "C'MON! This isn't fair! They're DYIN', LET ME OUT!"

"Hey... Otogi, Shizuka!" Anzu called down, attempting to ignore the injuries for the moment as she scanned the field. "Have you two seen Honda? He fell through the same hole you two did, didn't he?" she asked worriedly.

At this the pounding immediately stopped, eerie silence sitting over the air as they stared at each other. "Honda-han..."

It was as though they knew the answer already. As though they had come just somewhat later than intended, having been warned of the events. "...Honda-han was..."

"Honda was killed," Otogi finally said, looking to the lava below. "He sacrificed himself for us to keep going... He..."

"No..." Yugi, as he had been since coming in, was silent, eyes staring down in a mix of confusion, horror, and rage both.

Anzu as well grew white with shock, falling to her knees as she shook her head. "No way," she was whispering, a snake on her shoulder merely looking down with wide eyes. "It can't... He can't, it's not real..."

"Impossible," Katsuya said with a swallow, voice sounding strained as he looked through the glass with wide eyes. "It... Tha's impossible, he can't... He can' be DEAD!" he protested, "He can't-"

"I'm sorry," Shizuka cried, eyes welling with tears as the trauma caught up to her once more. "I'm so sorry... I kept making assumptions about the duel... And in the end," the girl screamed, "He sacrificed himself to protect me! It's my fault," she continued, holding her arms as she shook in fear. "It's all my fault..! I..."

Katsuya merely stared with worry, a few tears rolling down his own cheeks as the others did the same. "...Shizuka," he whispered, bowing his head for a moment as the grief continued to set in. "Shizuka... I..." ...She couldn't lose this...

No matter what... She couldn't lose this. "...Nihan," she said with a swallow, slowly calming her nerves with deep breaths. "There... There's still a chance we can get him back! If we win," she continued, bowing her head, "If I finish this match..."

A small bit of silence was left hanging in the air before the blond nodded, standing back from the glass with an encouraging stare. "Alrigh'... In tha' case, you listen up, got it," he called down, Shizuka swallowing as her brother continued. "So long as yer on tha' field, yer a duelist... So long as y' have cards in yer hand, an' a turn t' take, you keep fightin'! You're my sister... An' I know you can do th's," Katsuya shouted encouragingly, "So don' give in, no matter what, you got it," he finished, the girl nodding in response. "I'll be watchin'... So show me what I know you c'n do!"

"I..." Alright! "I will..! It's MY TURN!" she shouted, wind seeming to blast about the half-destroyed factory as she steadied her resolve. This was their last chance, their last move...

She couldn't screw this up! _'Remember,_ ' Otogi was saying from the side, ' _Anything Ryuzaki taught you... Remember..._ ' Of course!

And no matter what, she wouldn't fail!

"DRAW!" The menu flashed in the back of her mind as the command was given, escaping the 'pass' status it was in as her hand came to mind. Her next card...

It was...

...Heh.

...She could remember the day she found this card she thought to herself, eyes momentarily growing dull as scenes not at all unlike what she'd stood in prior the rhino's attack met her eyes.

_'Duel monsters?_ ' she'd asked, sitting in the hospital bed after her surgery. It was just around new year's; since the surgery, Keiichi had been visiting far beyond the normal hours allowed, going so far as to fall asleep ' _That game you're always playing in class? You want to play duel monsters?_ '

' _Yeah,_ ' Keiichi had responded cheerfully, having earlier mentioned bringing in his deck. ' _It's a fun game, and I think if you gave it a chance you'd enjoy it... Besides,'_ he continued with a laugh, 'Y _ou need something to do while you're here right?'_

_'Well... Yes,_ ' she admitted, rubbing her neck, _'But if I can't see the cards...'_

_'Don't worry,_ ' he'd hurriedly said, rummaging around his bag for something. _'I'll tell you what each one is! We can play with revealed hands, both of us, that way it's fair; you'll know what I have,'_ he explained, ' _And I'll be able to tell you what you have, so you can play each card._ '

She could remember giving him a wry smile in response to that. Playing with revealed hands... That was both easier and harder than a normal game she would think. _'I suppose that works... But what am I supposed to do for a de-_ '

_'Here._ ' A package of foil wrapped packets were placed in her hands at that moment, her fingers fumbling over the covers in the darkness she had yet to be used to. _'I still had a lot of money left from the Nationals, even with the train to Tokyo... So I got you these. I can help you build a deck with them,_ ' he'd told her confidently, ' _Just open them up, and we'll see what you get_!' And so she had.

And throughout the day he'd explained the rules if the game, the points to keep in mind, what one card did, what another did... Some cards were given to him, others put to the side for what he called 'trade ins'...

But there was one card in particular she could remember him talking about.

_'Ritual cards?_ ' she'd asked, now at home with the bandages still wrapped about her face that spring.

' _Yeah; they're like tribute monsters, but a lot harder to use_ ,' he explained between reading descriptions of cards in the packs. ' _Most are pretty worth it though, as they tend to have powerful effects as well. The one you got from this pack for example, 'Herald of Perfection_ ',' Keiichi told her, ' _Is able to negate the activation of any trap, spell, or effect by discarding a fairy type monster, destroying the card in the process. Of course_ ,' he'd continued with a laugh, rubbing his head somewhat nervously, _'Compared to most ritual monsters, it's not really that powerful... But because of that, it's not as hard to summon either. Each ritual monster has a corresponding spell card you see,_ ' the boy had told her. _'These are called Ritual Spell cards... By using these,_ ' Keiichi carefully explained, _'If you offer up monsters equal to the level of the monster you're summoning, while fulfilling any other requirements, you can get a pretty powerful monster on the field fast, even if certain types of summoning has been blocked. I'm not saying I'd use them of course_ ,' he'd gone on, laughing somewhat nervously as his friend gave him a wry smile. ' _But who knows,_ ' the boy pondered, his friend opening another pack to pull out the next card.

_'_ Maybe they'll suit you.'

The 'Herald of Perfection' had been traded in later that week, neither finding much use for the card. But the next pack she opened yielded something else after that, another 'duo' that was rarely found in the same pack. A card she held in her hand. A card that, looking at it now...

"Hah... If... If I bring out this monster," she muttered to herself, staring at the ground somewhat. "If I play this..." There was an option for 'Joan', who was more powerful, but it wouldn't be able to defend. If she herself participated in the summon however, and increased her power... Then maybe. Just maybe...

"Shizuka," Otogi was warning from the side, pulling himself up against the railing with a wince as he balanced on his one 'good' leg. "Be careful... If we don't play this right," he continued, "Then we're both dead..!" Right...

That was true. But she had an idea, and she wouldn't fail if she stuck to it! "...My deckmaster, 'Goddess of the Third Eye' allows me to summon fusion monsters without the use of polymerization, by discarding a spell," she began, bringing a bloodied hand to her chest as the menu scrolled in her mind. Around her the others were silent, listening as the girl continued. "However... I have another option, another way to do take this move!" she continued with a shout, looking up with an expression not unlike her older brother's. "On the field right now I have two level four monsters... I could sacrifice one to summon the monster I need to fusion summon 'St. Joan'," she explained, her friends and opponent both frowning at the shared strategy, "But instead I'm going to play this! RITUAL SPELL!" she roared, hands held out as clouds began to swirl into twisted and grey spirals. " _THE END OF THE WORLD_!"

The result of the spell was imminent.

Above them the sky took an almost patterned appearance, runes and hexagon-shaped spirals converging through the of the earth were beginning to rise toward the clouds. The ground was crumbling, physics were becoming no more important than a raindrop on the ground, and as the steel platform she stood upon rose she continued to speak.

"I sacrifice the Merciful Nun," she announced, the monster vanishing into dust from below as the debris joined with the storm, "Along with MYSELF!" Shizuka continued, "To summon this monster! To complete the ritual! Bringing about this... The monster who brings with her the collapse of all, the one with the powers of chaos!" she howled, clouds continuing to spin as they wrapped around the girl to hide her from form. " _RUIN_ ," Shizuka roared, breaking free of the winds as stones and ruins rose and fell amid the air in a shockwave, "THE QUEEN OF OBLIVION!"

For a moment, just a brief moment, he looked scared. He stared at the sight of the enraged and now vicious young girl and at the apocalyptic ruin resulted and froze, series of stones and steel floating around him almost like a cage.

But it was only an instant.

For even as the Command Angel Honda left behind gave her an added boost of power, there was still a difference of 2000 points of attack between them, and for that reason he was confident in his success. However despite this, she didn't feel worried. She wasn't sure why...

But she didn't feel worried, now that her body had healed and her summon was complete. And as the wind continued to howl, she was only barely paying attention to her opponent. "You... Is that all you can do?" Ota was laughing, Shizuka now standing on a hovering ruin of stones as her friends clutched whatever bits of land they themselves were on after the destruction of the city. "That isn't nearly enough to defeat me! Your power is nothing compared to mine... And even if you were to attack me with the spear you wield in your hands now, it would all be useless!" No... Not yet!

From the side, Yugi was shouting. "Otogi!" he called out, "You all have to work together; even the ones who aren't here! Honda left you something, didn't he?" he asked, Katsuya nodding from beside the boy.

Otogi blinked, looking to the side where Honda's old and still shining facedown card sat. "That's right!" he shouted, steadying himself on the steel platform he was still sitting on. "I haven't used my ability yet..!" Right- that ability...

The one that combined with Honda's could very well turn the tides in their favor!

"I activate my ability!" her friend announced, bringing his hands together with a shout as the panel down below began to glow. "Discarding two cards to use the face down card Honda left for us! NOW!" One hand motion was made... "Rin." Another, his eyes closed in focus. "Hyou." And another. "Tou."

Another, and another...

Otogi's hands moved swiftly through each one, eyes appearing to almost glow as the card at the side did the same, his hands blurring whilst they stared. "Sha... Kai... Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen ! Activate the spell 'UNITED WE STAND!" he announced curtly, the glass card shattering as a flaming energy arose from about him. "For each monster on our side of the field," the teen stated, "Including ourselves... The monster equipped gains 800 attack points! Now, Shizuka!" he called out, the fire wrapping around her as she jumped forward with a nod. "GO FOR IT!" Time to attack!

"H-Hhaa... HAAAHH!”

“Damn it all... Damn it! This is impossible!" Ota roared, as he watched the girl approach from the air, his attacking opponent slamming him into the ground with alarming force in mid shout. The robot collapsed into a crater on the ground, metal limbs broken and awkwardly positioned on the ruins as he continued to snarl. "Gh... This result... How could it be..? It's IMPOSSIBLE!" From her position in mid air she fell forward, landing on a cliff just meters from the machine's face. Fog settled in around them along with a windless air, and with a look of loathing most would consider far unlike her she stared down at the monster before her.

No one could see them. It was just fog, thick enough to obscure one's vision from a few feet. But she could still see, and so could Ota.

"You..." Her wide eyes swam with tears, teeth ground together as she clutched the spear in her right hand. "I can never forgive you," she hissed, "For what you did..." The machine narrowed the lenses of its eyes, chuckling rumbling from the speakers it had for mouths.

"Heh! I would expect nothing less..." Of course he wouldn't. "But... Don't think you'll be getting your friend back so easily," he taunted, Shizuka's face falling deeper into rage as a sliver of fear and confusion slipped in. "You might have beaten me... But I still defeated your friend, in a completely fair match! This was my mistake," he snarled bitterly, "I shouldn't have used my deck master... But that boy's body is still mine!" Wh...

What... No. No, that couldn't...

"I've got what I wanted... And believe me, we WILL meet again! And when we do, things will really get interesting," he cackled, the girl before him shaking with rage. "HAHAHAHAHA... AHAHAHA... AHA _HAHAHAAAA- ck-_ "

"HRAAAA _AAAAAAAHHHHNG!_ " A single slash was all it took to silence that laugh, a raged and miserable cry coming in the same instant. The cut from the spear was sharp, and more than enough to cut through the monster.

Dropping her spear to the ground as the metal of the now defeated robot fell limp Shizuka collapsed to her knees, fog sitting around her like a blanket as she cried.

It hadn't worked.

"Ah... Auuu _aaaaaaaa_..." It hadn't worked! "Aaaa _aaaaaannnn.._." Gone...

Gone, gone, gone, he was gone and it was her fault!

"Hnn... Aaa-nn... Nn..." Tears continued to stream down her face, the girl falling forward with her head on her knees even as someone came to hold her from behind. "Nnng... Hnng..."

"Shizuka," Katsuya was saying, pulling her close as she cried, and as events of the duel either reversed or rotted away to leave the ruin she'd created. "Shizuka," he whispered, "It's alrigh'... It's alrigh'..."

"Why isn't he coming back?" Otogi was muttering, barely supported between Anzu and Yugi as his wounds healed over, leg slowly and painfully reforming from what little had remained. "Why didn't it work..?" Because...

That was how it worked. That was...

"Gone... He's still gone," Shizuka forced out, holding her head in her hands. "Ota... He still got Honda-han's body," she choked, "He still..."

"Gh... That bastard... Damn it NOA!" Katsuya roared, turning to the sky as he stood up behind his sister in rage. "STOP SCREWIN' WITH US AN' GIVE 'M BAAAACK! LET US OUTTA HERE A LEAVE US ALONE, GIVE 'M BACK!"

Noa of course did not appear, nor did his voice echo through the air in response. But far in the distance, as the lights flickered to life on a screen...

The shouts were nonetheless answered.


	11. Moments of Dying

The last thing he remembered clearly was a scream.

Rather, the last thing that he could remember was a scream along with a sharp stinging pain through his middle. Not even 'around' or 'on' as one would expect in such a situation. Through. Complete with the lack of sensation between it, with his consciousness dully aware that there was nothing to feel. And then there was the sensation of falling...

The sight of the steel ceiling above, the cold feeling he had despite the heat he'd been subject to before, despite the heat that should have been surrounding him at that moment as he hit something 'soft'... And then darkness. Complete and utter darkness that had him wondering if he was really dead, if he would never awaken again. That was what he remembered.

But now, for some reason, he could hear...

Singing. No, not even that he told himself as he opened his eyes, an almost static-like film coming over them as he groaned.

Humming.

"Hn-hn-hn-hn-hnn-hn... Hnn-hn... Hnn-hn... Nnnn-Nn-n-nh-nh-nh-nh, Nnnhnhn-hn-hnhn..."

Definitely humming he told himself. Couldn't recognize the song... But he was pretty sure it was humming.

"Hn-hn-hn-hn-hnn-hn... Hnn-N... ..."

And then it stopped. The source, a small white clothed girl he noted through the sparking haze, suddenly froze at her computer desk before turning.

"...You're awake... How odd," she muttered monotonously, the girl walking toward him. Strange. Eh. He merely continued to wince with a dull pain that was beginning to return in response, not feeling well enough to talk.

With that in mind, maybe it was strange that he was awake...

Honda continued to groan, moving to rub his head only to wince with pain as a sharp shock rand down his shoulder. Acck... Don't do that again he told himself, letting out a slight grunt in pain, don't ever, ever- "...You're still 'aware'," the girl continued to mutter, Honda tensing as he attempted to turn his head. Eh? Aware, he thought with a frown, narrowing his eyes.

What the hell did that mean, 'aware'?

The girl, resembling an odd mix between an albino and Kaiba's trademark monster merely continued to stare, half-lidded glowing with a slight curiosity despite their 'faded' appearance. "Yes... It's strange," she muttered, hands folded in front of her, "That wasn't supposed to happen..." Um...

O... Kay... The girl seemed to lean in, staring at his face as though it were some oddity before abruptly pulling back in her chair.

"...Stay here," the girl decided, moving from the computer she'd been sitting at in what looked to be a bunker of sorts beneath the ground. "I will discern the cause..." The cause of what? He turned, stumbling as he tried to stand in protest. Ack-

He couldn't walk... He looked down, staring at the ground with a scowl before looking back up. Not the point. That girl... "Gh... HEY! What are you-!" He paused, blinking as he was met with empty air. "Talking... About... ...Hah. Gone..." She was gone. As though she'd simply evaporated in thin air.

That was weird.

"Man..." So was his voice actually; had some weird, metallic undertone. Regardless of the oddness of the situation, this probably wasn't the time to complain.

Seeing how he'd expected to die and all that.

He sighed, looking around the room with a frown as confusion continued to strike. Hn. Couldn't walk, couldn't speak or see properly... And to top it all off everything around him was at least five times taller than it should have been he noted, looking up at the desks with narrowed eyes. Sheesh... Just where was this place? The teen continued his attempts to stand, stumbling somewhat forward with a grunt. Hands, for some reason unseen to him, eventually caught on something and as he stepped forward he soon came to achieve an odd sort of balance. God...

Couldn't even look down properly and it hurt, same with moving his arms... He continued to lay a hand on the wall at the side, moving forward. What happened when he died? If anything he'd think his stomach would hurt, not his joints and head. Honda shook himself despite this, instead stumbling along the metal wall before pausing. The hairs by the back of his neck were bristling, senses on high alert. Something was in the room...

Something else he told himself, turning slowly to the side with narrowed eyes. Something-

"Oh-" He blinked, staring at the side as his eyes met with a similarly sized 'dog' of sorts. 'Of sorts' being key it looked like; a mask sat over its face, and the fact was he couldn't remember the last time dogs stood on their hind-legs. Still, he supposed in a weird way it was kinda cute, despite being his size. Something he'd say even Shizuka would be interested in actually. "Er... Hey there," he laughed, eyes shut for a moment before he stared at the thing again. It was oddly silent he supposed, but that was a muzzle. "Soooo... How are you?" he continued with a wave, before freezing in shock.

Hold on, that wasn't...

"Ah... Aaah! AHHH!" The dog stumbled back, falling over himself as he scooted away from the wall on all fours, backing away in horror as he stared at what was his reflection. This...

This was...

"Wh-Wh-Wh... Holy shit... They... They actually did it," he whispered, shaking his head as he stared at the depressing looking mask that was now his face. "Holy fuck..." His body... They took his body...

They'd replaced it with... This!

The 'dog' gasped for breath, shaking as he subconsciously took a canine-typical stance to pace around the image of himself. Growling was coming through the air, and it was probably his. After a while however he found his heart-rate slowing, breathing calming as he stepped closer.

"Ahhhh... Shit... What the hell kind of body did they put me in?" he muttered, slowly approaching the shining computer casing to further study his reflection. "W...What am I a puppy?" Or... A terrier? Something?

Some kind of dog?

He couldn't see his face after all he thought with a swallow, shaking and quivering in a mix of fear and shock both. A paw was slowly raised forward, the dog 'grimacing' despite his mask revealing nothing of the emotion.

"Man... This is just... Ahhhh..." He tapped the side slowly, hesitantly as his reflection matched up with his 'arm'. It was his. The paws, the fur, the tail... All his he told himself, before sitting back with a swallow. "Damn it..." Well. This was just perfect, wasn't it. Not only did he get to die, he was stuck in a puppy with an S-and-M mask. "This Noa kid has some twisted interests," he growled, tail thumping the ground in agitation as a more feral sound escaped the mask's vents. "Not to mention a sick sense of humor... Ah... Hang on..."

The dog frowned, stepping forward to squint at his reflection for a moment. When he spoke... Lines appeared when he spoke, just splitting slightly into four directions from between his 'eyes'. But that couldn't be right.

Hell... "What kind of mask is this?" he muttered, staring at the lines that just briefly appeared when he did so. Hnnn... This...

Just a theory but... What would happen if he tried to open his mouth 'wide' he asked himself, tilting his head before doing just that.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa- A-AAAAHH! AHHHHH! OH MY GOD! OH MY- A _AAAAUUUUHHH!_!”

Honda pulled back from the reflection instantly as he opened his 'mouth' wide, pushing and backing away from the thing that opened from his head as he screamed. The reflection was long forgotten in the noise, but despite this he continued to panic. No eyes. He had no eyes, no mouth, no nose, no tongue, there was nothing of a face beneath the mask!

"AHHHH-AAAHHH-AAAHHHH!!"

Claws scratched at metal flaps as the spread into the air, wires and filaments flailing from within as a small black and empty screen/speaker faced out from the very bottom. It wasn't moving. Attached to his neck by a collar it wasn't moving, it wasn't...

"OH GOD WHAT IS THIS!" he screamed, rolling back to his feet as more canine instincts continued to fight the thing as though it were a vet's cone. "AHHHHH..!" This thing... This...

THING...

Honda choked, slowly pulling his breathing back under control as he caught sight of his shadow. He had to calm down, he told himself. He had to...

But his head...

The dog continued to stare, shuddering as he looked at the thing over his head. It looked more like a flower right now, just slowly pulling back in on itself to reform the twisted mask it was before. It was like his entire skull was a giant, multi-petalled flytrap, some monstrous alien thing that hid in plain sight.

As horrific as it was to even think about that. "Hahh... Hah..." Alright... He needed to calm down damn it! So...

So he had a head that split open like a great big flower with teeth for the moment. Alright! Well, he'd just have to live with that and get his body back, and that was what he'd do just now! Heck, this could have been so much worse he told himself, slowly beginning to move again as the head 're-sealed'. After all...

He could have ended up a monkey. Now that would have been horrible.

Honda chuckled mentally, continuing out of the room before pausing. ...Hang on... Did he hear...

" _Hey,_ " a familiar voice asked, accented by the sounds of footsteps. " _Do you think... He's somewhere around here..?_ " That sound...

Where was it coming from? The dog froze as he heard Yugi's voice continue, a slight yelp escaping him as he looked up to the devices at the side. A...

The computer screen? Voices continued through the air, Honda tilting his head somewhat before hopping on the chair beside it to inspect the device. Yep. It was definitely a screen but where were the others he asked himself, before 'blinking' as he caught sight of a second one.

"A-Ahh..! It's them!" he shouted, 'head' opening and closing with the shout as he hurriedly reeled in the volume on his voice. Note to self, don't do that...

The dog stared, hopping somewhat in place as he watched the crowd walk through the ruined city. An outfit almost similar to his previous one, complete with goggles... Otogi's 'dancer' outfit, a different, white-haired look for Shizuka... Robes on both of the others, with a snake coiled about Anzu's wrist.

These guys... "Yugi... Jonouchi... And..." And the others... They made it! They lived he told himself, before frowning as he turned around. "...O-Oii... Is my tail wagging..?"

...Yes. Yes it was, though he should probably just not think about that...

Given the fact that he shouldn't have had one at all. Instead he leaned closer to the screen, paws dabbing at the keys as he narrowed his eyes to stare. Yugi and everyone... Sure it was the other Yugi, but even so at least they were there. "Damn... Where are they?" There were no signs to answer that question, but as he stared at the screen he could see them speaking. They were worried about him... Searching...

" _Hey... They might have said they'd take his body, but they never said they'd kill him outright,_ " Jonouchi was saying at the moment in regards to Yugi's earlier question, the dog at the screen giving a slight whine in response as he pawed the computer for balance. Those guys... They... " _Maybe he's around here somewhere... Maybe if we look hard enough_ ," his friend continued quietly, " _We'll find him again..._ " Guys...

He couldn't feel ungrateful about that in any way, and yet...

Would they recognize him at all he asked himself, hopping back to the ground with another whine at the thought. He was barely a foot tall, let along his normal height and appearance both! There was nothing to give him away, nothing at all, and who was to say they would believe anything he said? They...

The dog steeled himself, shaking his head. They just had to know who he was though he told himself, narrowing his eyes in determination. They had to! They just... Had to!

And with that in mind he hurried off down the hall with a nod, hopping over piles of boxes and cables as he went in the direction he just knew was the way out. He'd just have to have hope... He'd find them, and with their help get through all of this...

No matter what!

* * *

The ruins of Alcatraz and the city around them had changed considerably in the time it took to travel to the outer limits from the desert. In that amount of time- what had been less than a minute- a violent and brilliantly formed storm had developed, with runes appearing in the sky and patterns etching on the ground in ritualistic patterns. Within seconds the siblings walk had become a rush for shelter, pieces of ground tearing from the earth, buildings collapsing on themselves before scattering into the air to hover in place, the two attempting to avoid being either launched through the air or worse.

And above it all they could hear one loud and miserable battle cry, the sky above them filling with fog and the scent of blood. It was altogether frightening. Something that had both Seto and Mokuba holding their weapons at the ready, back to back with narrowed eyes for fear of encountering whatever had caused, or possibly released, that scream.

As it was they were not alone. "...Someone's there," Mokuba was whispering, looking around them at the ruined buildings with a swallow. "But where is this?" he continued, not looking back.

Seto shook her head, frowning as she took in the ruined and collapsed scenery. The hall was just an entrance to the lower and upper level's of a parking garage from what she could tell, but given the lack of a roof... "I don't know," she admitted, narrowing her eyes in thought. "It looks familiar but..."

All the same it wasn't, not in any way at all. More like a mix. There were signs at the side written in what looked to be German that she recognized; and though this was helpful she told herself, it merely served to at the same time further confuse her. Seconds ago they had stood outside of the factory Alcatraz, watching its ruined form collapse- so why was it that they were now in Germany?

- _tpf-f_ -

A pebble clattered to the ground, the siblings attention instant drawn forward. "Hn! This-"

The two turned, narrowing their eyes as the sound of footsteps came over the air, running along the edge of the building above. A shadow arose in the fog of the roofs... A somewhat tall figure, pointing toward them, with something in his hands. But what...

Seto's eyes widened as she heard the tell tale click of a safety being removed, hurriedly grabbing her brother and throwing them both to the ground without hesitation. "GET DOWN!" she shouted abruptly, gunfire echoing through the air with the chipping of the ground at their side. You never hear the bullet she repeated in her mind, you never hear the bullet, never...

In an instant she turned with Mokuba's arm tightly in her grasp, the two taking slight cover behind a ruined wall as she looked to their attacker with narrowed eyes. Bastard...

Try and fight like that would they? She stood, the shots briefly halting as she looked toward her target. "FIRE!" As the flames shot forward the figure jumped, moving to the side before the sounds of gun-fire again came through the air. Bullets spun and dug through the ground, the shadow moving closer and closer.

"Gh- Nee-sama!" Mokuba shouted abruptly, the woman looking around the corner as they continued to hide, "These things are going through the stone!" What!

Seto glanced back for a moment, growing pale as she spotted the hole near their head. The woman grabbed her brother's arm, both fleeing to another wall for cover as the near blinding shots continued. "Gh... What kind of bullet does that kind of damage?" she growled, gripping her sword with narrowed eyes before looking back around the corner. Their attacker was well hidden. Nothing but a shrouded figure in the fog that was now at ground level, a fact that seemed to matter little to the man before them.

A fact that seemed to even work in his favor. "I know you're out there," a chilling voice called out, sounding almost similar to Honda's own as he moved past their hiding place. "Come on out 'Ojouchan'..." Ojo-

The woman stood to snarl toward the source, running out with her blade forward as she grit her teeth. "Gh... I am no 'OJOU'!" she snarled, swinging the blade forward at the shadow as it turned in shock. Fog cleared somewhat from the area in the resulting clash, and as the blade was blocked she abruptly tensed with shock. "Ngh-... You..!"

It was this guy? "That... It's Honda!" Mokuba shouted incredulously, his sister narrowing her eyes as she stared toward the twin bayonets forcing the block against her sword. "...But what are you doing..?"

'Honda' merely chuckled, clicking the safety off both weapons once more with a sadist's grin. "Hello there 'Seto'... Doing well I assume?" What! Seto's eyes widened, momentarily frozen in shock as the first of the guns was moved to point toward her skull. Earlier 'Honda' called her 'Ojou'... That meant he knew...

That meant..."Gh... You're..."

"Not who you think," the teen growled, before his opponent kicked back from the ground to duck underneath the shot he'd fired. 'Honda' again began to chuckle however, bringing the weapon back to brush against his magazine belt with a smirk. "Although... I can see how you'd be confused. Believe me though," he sneered, pointing his weapon forward again as the revolver barrel spun, "My hatred for you is quite unchanged..." Hatred? Seto's eyes widened briefly as she paced around her opponent, before narrowing them back with understanding. Noa had pulled them all into a fight for bodies. Honda didn't even duel last time she bothered to listen to the mutt, it wouldn't be surprising if he was the first to go!

The woman scowled, before hurriedly bringing her sword forward to block a fired bullet as the thought came to mind. A chip appeared in the sword... And another, and another as the bullets were fired. "Tch... And just what 'hatred' would that be?" she snarled, silently charging up a spell as her sword glowed red. "If you are who I think," the woman added, before steadying her stance as her opponent moved to charge.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Does it really matter?" he roared, forgoing the bullets for the sake of close combat. "HAAAAAA-AAH!"

"GH- FIRE!" the woman countered, swinging the blade to throw her opponent back as he charged. The flames filled the air and the space he'd fallen, Seto snorting at the so called fight that had occurred. "You... You think you of all people can stand against me?" she snarled, watching as a shadow rose from the flames. The teen pulled himself up from the ground almost effortlessly, fog continuing to clear as Seto paled. Impossible. Not a speck of ash was on the teen's form, not even a wisp of smoke, and as 'Honda' stepped forward, a vicious grin appeared on his face. Immune..

He was immune... "Are you done?" he asked, brushing one of the guns against his magazine-packs as he again re-loaded his weapons. Gh...

Far from it she told herself, taking a stance with her blade as she narrowed her eyes and prepared to fight. Far from-

"HONDA!" Ah-!

Seto turned, eyes wide as the rest of Yugi's usual 'crowd' came running through the fog, panic and worry evident in their expressions. Robes, leather, cloth...

Interesting how one was still in 'deckmaster form', not that she had the time to consider that. "Guys!" Anzu was shouting, gesturing forward with a snake and a staff both in her hands. "Over here," she was continuing, "I found him!"

"Ah- Honda!" Yugi called out, the group stopping as 'Honda' looked over with near rage filled eyes, the group too far to notice the sour expression. "You're alright!" This...

"Yugi..." All of them were there... And in addition...

The woman hurriedly glanced down at herself in the corner of her eye, before looking back to her opponent in slight relief. If her armor had been anything else she'd have been exposed... But it was alright; so long as no one got too close they wouldn't see anything, and she would be safe. Besides that though...

"Tch... Backup," her opponent hissed, pulling his guns back with narrowed eyes as he backed away from the approaching crowd and Seto both. "Just what I need!" Well if that didn't give him away...

"This... Guys, not to complain," Otogi muttered with a swallow, "But I have a nasty feeling this isn't him..." Huh! Really now? What gave him away, the expression, the guns, or his words?

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Shouts of protest came from the side as they realized what had happened, 'Honda' continuing to laugh as the grin over his face grew. "Did you honestly think you would find your 'friend' in his own body?" the 'teen' asked, his weapons appearing to glow somewhat with a hidden power. "This is mine now," he chuckled, spinning a revolver on his hand as he pointed the second forward. "Property of 'Ota Soichiro' and soon to be known as such... But first," the teen continued, firing his weapon as his opponent brought her sword forward, "TO DEAL WITH YOU! BLADE SHOT!"

"HN!" Metal clashed against metal, the blade easily blocking the attacks only for the woman to be thrown back with a short shout of surprise as the force knocked her against a somewhat distant building. "GHK! Gnh..!" D-Damn it! That wouldn't have happened in the real world, so how-

She grabbed her arm, looking up only to grow white as the white spots in her eyes cleared to see the muzzle of a gun.

"..Sff!"

"N-Ne... Nii-sama!" Mokuba shouted, having come out from his cover only to freeze and step away nervously at the sight of the cornered woman. "A-Ah..."

"K-Kaiba," Yugi whispered, his own friends tensed and frozen in shock themselves as their possessed friend chuckled.

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." The woman grit her teeth as the barrel of a gun met with the center of her face, sword lying at a distance thanks to the shock of the blast. "Don't move, or even think," Ota warned, finger closing in on the trigger as a bead of sweat ran down the woman's face. "I'm going to kill you right now... You shouldn't underestimate the abilities of a marksman's body," he continued, narrowing his eyes. "Sayounara, Seto-oj-"

" _RAOF! AOF, AOF!_ "

"W- G-"

Barking echoed through the air as Seto closed her eyes, before blood-curdling screams forced her to open them again. The gun was gone...

Something else had attacked.

"GHRAAAA _AAAAGGHHH! AAGGGHHH_!" Ota abruptly pulled at his face as the creature struck with as much ferocity as possible, the crowd momentarily frozen in shock as Seto hurriedly went for her sword. "RHAAAAAAAAHHH!" A monster...

A 'thing' had latched to the man's face, something with the body of a small dog with the head of some twisted metal machine, four panels of steel digging into the teen's skull with all the ferocity of an alligator. Something that wasn't going to let go if its life depended on it, something that likely applied completely. " _GRRRRRRRRRRRNN... RRAAARRRRRRNNNN_!"

Snarls continued. Blood dripped from between the jaws but as a third sound cut through the air she turned.

" _RER-f_!"

A yelp shot through the air, Seto bringing her swords up just in time to watch Ota rip the dog from his now sliced and bleeding face with a scowl. "You... You scum," he hissed, approaching the dog with a snarl. "I'm going to-"

This was her chance.

"AERO!" Rather than a blade Ota's face and body were met with a solid blast of air, the force alone enough to send him flying into the fog and out of sight. Attacking her...

Tch! Did he honestly expect to succeed she thought with a growl, the dog at the side 'rebuilding' its head with a moan as she continued to stare into the foggy scene. "Heh... Nice one, Se- ...Kaiba!" Jonouchi corrected and shouted from the side, a few of the others staring incredulously as the woman gave no response.

"'Nice one'?" Anzu repeated dully, Seto in the meantime approaching the area her opponent fell with slow caution, "I don't think that's really a good thing to say when it's Honda's bod-"

-RR _RRNNNNNNN-RNNNN_

Rumbling tore through the air, the group paling as they turned to the source.

Um. Shit.

A light shone through the fog, Seto hurriedly jumping to the side as a bike spun and screeched out from the wreckage, narrowly missing the woman as she grit her teeth. "Gh- Ota..!" A bang sounded through the air...

"NII-SAMA!" her brother cried, appearing almost as stone as the woman looked up from the ground. He'd been moving to charge with his wakizashi, the blade now frozen in his very hands. "NII-SAMA, I can't-" Petrification...

"Mokuba!"

The woman turned to charge the bike, only for the following events to move too quickly for her to effect them. "You took something of mine," Ota called out, snatching the immobilized boy under his arm as the bike spun and revved, "Now allow me to take something of yours!" What...

WHAT...! "You... YOU-" The engine was already roaring as she charged, tearing off through a tunnel at the side as she stared. "Ota..!"

Shouts were already echoing through the air in rage. The others charged off to the ruined tunnel Ota had shot down, shouting threats as they squinted into the dark. Nothing, she told herself, shaking her head... That would do nothing, she needed something that would move-

...Aha...

"Take my brother will you," she growled, pushing the rubble from the side of where she'd previously fallen and sheathing her blade. Stones and steel slats were pushed aside as she uncovered a second bike, throwing her leg over the side and taking the handles in her grip. "Bastard... I'll make your death as painful as possible!" Simply gripping the handles the vehicle roared to a start, the others before her hurriedly jumping to the side as she tore off in the same direction as her brother's captor. "OUT OF MY WAY," she snarled, taking off. "Unless you want to get run over!"

"A-AH- Wait, S- Kaiba!” Jonouchi shouted from behind, shouts already fading as she chased after her brother's captor in the darkness of the tunnel. "WAIT! HEY!"

There was only one thing on her mind as the voices faded completely, her motorcycle exiting onto an enormous bridge towering above a cityscape. The man ahead of her, regardless of identity, had her brother. And so help her she thought, the vehicle glowing with energy as she charged up an attack, the moment she saw that person he was dead.

* * *

"KAIBA!" Yugi shouted, frowning as the bike vanished off. The calls of the others bounced across the walls of the tunnel as their friend disappeared, the boy falling silent as he stared off. "Gh... This..."

"It looks like they... Looks like they really did it," Otogi whispered, lowering his gaze as they stared through the tunnel with similar expressions of despair. "They took his body..."

"But then what happened to his real one, or even just his mind?" Anzu asked, turning to the others in worry. "I mean... If each of the big five became their deckmasters," she continued, "Then how will we find him? Honda isn't dueling any more..."

"Not t' mention tha' they aren't r'stricted to th' deckmasters," Katsuya muttered, the others turning as he explained somewhat. "If they were," he was muttering, "I wouldn' have seen Oka b'fore th' duel..."

Not to mention everything else, he told himself with a wince. Barking came from the side, the group turning as a dog looked back from the ravaged battle scene before them. It seemed like a dog anyway. A small brown puppy, with an odd mask over it...

"Ah... Hey... It's the dog that attacked Ota," Anzu noted, not realizing the pale tone that Katsuya had taken upon spotting the creature. This dog...

This was Noa's dog! "Rff! Raof!" the dog barked, mask unmoving with each sound despite the otherwise lively body below the collar. "Aof!"

Shizuka smiled at the dog's evident cheer, bending down as the puppy bounded over with a wagging tail. "Awwww... It's so cute," she said with a laugh, scratching the puppy's back as it brushed and pawed at the woman's robes. "I wonder what it's doing here..." What it was doing...

Nothing good, that was for sure. "Must be another program," he muttered, swallowing as he narrowed his eyes to step forward. "Somethin' Noa made..." Something he made to spy on them, or worse... "Hey, get away from it," he added worriedly, pulling his sister back as the girl frowned. "Tha' thing ain't somethin we can trust, believe me!"

"He's got a point," Otogi added, the dog in question whining as it lay on the concrete before them, tail drooping miserably. "Anything is possible here after all," he continued in warning, "And if we aren't careful, someone else might... Well..." He trailed off, the others nonetheless nodding in agreement despite the puppy's growls as an again morose feeling fell over the crowd. "In any case," the teen muttered, "The safest bet would probably be to leave it alone, and just walk away..." Leave it be?

"Heh! I can do y' one over," the blond beside him chuckled darkly, cracking his knuckles as he stowed his staff under his arm, "Le's jus' kill th' thin' righ' here," he offered with a frown, "So we don' have t' worry abou' it followin' us!"

The others seemed to stare with mixed reactions to the idea, Yugi in particular looking as though his lighter half was busy reprimanding him for possibly agreeing.

"Ah-! Nihan!" Shizuka growled, the dog in question stepping back with a nervous whine as her brother approached. "Don't!"

"W- Why not?" he protested, watching as his sister scowled and blocked his path.

"Nggggh... Honestly, it tried to save Kaiba-han didn't it?" she asked, the dog's tail appearing to wag with praise as the others frowned. "It's probably an ally if you think about it like that!"

"I suppose that's true," Yugi muttered, lowering his gaze in confusion. "But just why would Noa program an 'ally'..?"

Shizuka shrugged, before turning back to the dog with a comforting smile. "Hahhh... Let's just not worry about that now, alright?" she asked, gesturing to the puppy with the same slightly depressed looking expression on her face. "It hasn't tried anything yet, and if Noa was attacking us," the girl continued in defense, "He'd have probably done it by now." Well...

That was true too, but this really wasn't-

"Now... Come here koinu-chan," she called out sweetly, the dog bounding over with evident ease despite what was probably a degrading name.

"Rao! Raof, raof!" A 'tentacle' of sorts slipped through the cracks of the puppy's mask, licking the sides of Shizuka's face as she squealed.

"Ah! H-Hey," she protested, the taller ones of the group each tensing in response. "That tickles! Stop that!"

The dog merely 'smiled', eyes shining through the mask as it barked cheerfully. "Rao!" Gh...

Stupid dog... "Tch... You're lucky Shizuka said something," he muttered darkly from the side, "Else you'd be a dead dog..."

At this Yugi shook his head from the side, smirking at the exchange before dropping it for a frown. The fog in the air had finally cleared, leaving nothing but the layers of smog above. Rubble littered the ground, leaving nothing but the tunnel. "We should find some sort of transportation," he announced, the others turning as he continued on. "Both Kaiba and Mokuba have motorcycles after all; we won't catch up if we chase them on foot."

The others blinked, Otogi frowning as he looked around and nodded. "True," he said after a moment, "We'd definitely stand more of a chance if we did that... But I don't see anything here," he continued, crossing his arms.

"I don't even know how Kaiba found that bike," Anzu added, frowning before a shout came over the air.

"Hey," a familiar and somewhat childish hissing voice called from the side. "Think this will work?"

Oh? The group turned, following the shout to where Ren appeared to be sitting on a silvery-green machine, looking rather proud about having found something while they were talking. "I mean... It's not like I know much about trucks or anything, but seeing how a bike is more for one or two people..."

The teens blinked, Shizuka coming over with the dog in her arms as they stared at the mostly covered truck. "Oh... It's a 'Delta'," she muttered, Katsuya and Yugi both turning with raised eyebrows.

"Ah... A 'delta'?" he repeated, his sister nodding in response.

Otogi was the one to answer despite this, moving closer as Anzu took Ren back on her arm. "A three-wheeled car," he explained, attempting to clear a few bits of rubble from the machine with a grunt. "Specifically, a vehicle with two wheels in the back and one in the front. Though this looks more like a trike," the teen muttered, before heaving a large boulder from the pile and dusting his hands off to stare. "Oh- And it's got a trailer too!" he shouted back, the others looking to each other in silence.

It did indeed have a trailer, and it looked as though without it the device would simply not run. Attached to the 'car' a row of benches lined the sides, along with what looked to be an unfolding canopy and screen of sorts. For the front, there was simply the controls for the device.

"Hahh... A trailer... Then we can all take the same thing," said Anzu, her partner staring at the machine with slight curiosity. The serpent appeared to be looking at the front in particular, dangling somewhat from his partner's hand before turning. "Well.. That's great," Ren decided, "Really. But who's going to drive the thing?" Um...

A few of them looked back to Yugi, the boy raising an eyebrow before bringing his hands up in defense. "...I'm... Pretty sure I don't know how," he muttered, giving an awkward cough as he looked away.

"Well I know I don't have a licence," Anzu muttered, the others turning to Katsuya as he blinked. Wait hang on...

"E-Eh! Me?" he asked almost incredulously, the others continuing to stare. Otogi nodded, face kept rather blank.

"I'm still working on my licence," he said rather plainly, shrugging as he crossed his arms. "But Honda mentioned that you and he both drove illegally a few times in late middle school, I think it was something about a cross-wired truck..." AH-

He swore not to tell anyone about that!

Too late though. "You did what nihan?" Shizuka hissed, the dog in her arms giving a nervous whine as the girl tensed. "I thought you told me those burns you had came from a pot," she continued, the blond vividly remembering the letter he'd sent the girl shortly after that trip.

"N-Nyhh... It was only once!" the blond protested nervously, "An' we really needed th' transport!" he shouted in defense, the ghost in his mind chuckling at the unease of the situation.

" _A nice hole you have there Merea... Very 'roomy'_." Oh stuff it already!

The blond sighed, moving toward the machine to help unbury it as the ghost did as requested. "Hahhh... Alrigh," he decided, looking at the single person car at the front as he pushed aside a few bricks of concrete, "I guess I c'n drive this thing... Looks pretty weird though," Katsuya muttered as he attempted to pull it out, "More like a bike..."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Yugi assured him, joining in with the others as the trailer was slowly cleared out and freed from the rocks. "For now," he continued seriously, "We need to focus on possibly locating Honda's 'new' body..." Right...

The others nodded, helping to pull the 'truck' out to the clearer parts of the road. "He has to be around here somewhere," Otogi said after a short moment of pushing, the dog in Shizuka's arms barking in response as their decided driver took his seat. "Though we could always try taking Ota out; that might work..."

"Aof! Aouf, raouf!" the dog barked somewhat loudly, shaking his head. "Raof!" Barking...

That barking was really, really annoying... "Hey... Can y' get that dog t' stuff it?" Katsuya asked, rubbing his ears as Shizuka shrugged from her place at the back of the trailer.

"Sorry," she said with a shrug, placing her spear at the side as the others followed on board. "I don't think dogs are good listeners really..."

"Well tell it I'm goin' back on th' deal if it keeps goin'," he responded as the others took their seats, the blond closing the door on his 'car' with a growl, "It's distractin'!"

"R-R _nnf_ ," whined the puppy in response, Shizuka scowling.

"Gh! Nihan!"

As the engine started up all arguments were either put on hold or petered down after that, the others gripping the sides of the truck from their seats as the headlights on the vehicle lit up a clear path before them. "Heh... Alrigh'," he said with a smirk, pulling back on the gear shift with a dark grin, "Le's see how fast th's baby can go!"

In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have said something like that before pushing down on the gas.

"W-WOAAAAAA-"

"NIIIII-HAAAAAAANNN!"

"JONOUCHI!" the others cried, clinging to their places as Ren flapped from the truck canopy in the wind with wide eyes.

"I... REGRET... NOTHING!" he forced out, fangs digging into the canopy cloth as he screamed. "AWWWWWWW YEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Well.

At least someone was enjoying this, he thought with a grin. Now...

Off they went!

* * *

"Ota... Funny seeing you here..."

There was nothing funny about the situation. That much was obvious, but even so as Ota screeched to a halt on the bike, unconscious and immobilized young boy in his arm, the line still fit the situation.

Even if he'd already known it would happen.

The scenery melted away around them as the bike came to a complete stop, the body of Honda Hiroto stepping off from the machine to swallow. "N-Noa-sama," Ota muttered, tensing as they were left floating in darkness before each other.

"Hn..." Mokuba's form was misted out from the teen's arm, the bike vanishing completely as the boy was left on a couch without armor to the side. The former technology head found himself staring, looking to the 'room' at the side before swallowing nervously.

"...I... Noa-sama..."

"Just what did you think you were doing?" Noa asked darkly, crossing his arms as he looked over to the former board member with a scowl. "Knocking this boy out and taking him hostage?"

Ota swallowed, bowing his head as he winced. "I... That woman took everything from me," he hissed, not looking up for a few moments as he shook with rage. "My work... My family... Even with this body," he continued with wide eyes, looking up as he shook his head, "I'll never see my children again! I'll never see them go through school, not in the way I should!"

"And that's all very upsetting," he continued, quite uncaring for the situation, "But why did you take Mokuba?"

"I wanted to take something from her," Ota responded, eyes narrowing with anger as he steadied his resolve. "To force her to feel this pain..."

"So you planned to kill him then?" Noa 'asked', the teen before him showing little response to the idea as he shook his head.

"No- just her," he explained, narrowing his eyes as he frowned. "The boy would just be bait... That," Ota added darkly, "And a vessel for one of my own 'friends'..." Hahhh...

And here he'd hoped he would have another toy to play with...

Well, he supposed it would be difficult to re-program that computer while everyone carried it around... "As I recall," Noa said with a sigh, shaking his head, "We made an agreement that there would be no such measures involved in this."

"My partners hadn't lost all but one of their matches at that time," Ota countered, fists shaking as he continued with his argument. "This is all I can do," he protested, "They're the only ones who will still know who I am, the only ones who can safely know and not consider me completely insa-"

"DON'T MAKE EXCUSES!" the boy roared, voice rumbling and echoing as his pawn flinched with fear. The air seemed to rumble with his rage, thundering with each word before it settled into silence yet again. "Really... How shameless..." How perfectly useless and shameless... "I'll be taking the boy," he said plainly, snapping his fingers as he and Ota were both returned to the highway and his motorcycle. "As for you... Your 'contract' has been altered. From now on you can consider your days in this world numbered," Noa warned seriously, "As until I finish what I want here," the boy explained "You will be left to wander the same realm as your former opponents. And while I'm sure you would ordinarily enjoy that," he continued on with a frown, "Your immunity has been revoked; if the 'real' Honda Hiroto defeats you in combat," Noa told him, the teen before him paling, "You will lose this body you worked so hard to earn... Have I made myself clear?" he pressed, expecting no other response than 'yes'.

Ota tensed, gritting his teeth as he nodded. "Gh... Crystal," he muttered, his employer smirking as he made to take his leave.

"Good... Safe travels then," he sneered, fading back to his room as his final words echoed about his 'pawn'. "Don't let the dog bite..."

"Gh..! The dog-!"

As Ota's unnerved and face faded from view Noa turned, moving toward the couch where Mokuba's body lay. He was unconscious for the moment. 'Asleep' rather, thanks to a second effect bullet from Ota's weapon. A handy bonus he'd received from taking a body with the same class as his own...

However this would easily be repaired he told himself, taking a seat on an opposite couch as both Kisara and Seraph appeared at the sides in silence. Easily...

It was time to wake up he thought mentally, hands folding in his lap. It was time...

"H...Hnnn..." Aha... There they were.

"Feeling alright?" he asked with apparently genuine worry, the boy across from him wincing as he held his head in pain.

"Ung... Where..." The boy's vision slowly cleared, his head turning before a shout broke into the air. "AH! You-!" Mokuba exclaimed, pulling back on the couch with wide eyes before looking himself over. There was nothing but the skin-tight, black suit of the stereotypical ninja, mask and gloves removed along with his armor. All of his weapons were removed, leaving nothing but an almost 'Seto'-like outfit, or even one meant for Yugi in its wake. "Gh- Where is this?" the boy demanded, narrowing his eyes into a glare as he turned on his captor. "And what did you do to my sister!"

Noa chuckled, shaking his head as he crossed his legs on the couch. How angry... "Really," he said with a sigh, giving the boy a slight shrug. "I'm the one who saved you... There's no need to be like that."

"Gh... I think there's plenty of reason," the boy responded, quickly finding himself unable to leave the couch despite his efforts. "Seeing how you started all of this in the first place!" Hn! And of course, the full story was never there...

"So that's what you think now..." What everyone thought... Only natural he supposed. But really... "That almost hurts," he admitted despite the smile on his face, again shaking his head as he sighed. "I brought you here as a member of my family, as my 'brother'... I only meant to treat you as my guest, to make you feel at home."

This only served to further unnerve the boy however, Mokuba pulling back against the couch cushions with narrowed eyes. "Family?" he asked incredulously, shaking his head in fear. "The only family I have is my sister and my friends! You're no member of my 'family'," he spat. "Don't even say that!"

Not a member of his family? If he only knew... But later, he told himself. Later.

For now... "Ahhh yes... Your 'sister'," Noa muttered, glancing to the side as a large screen appeared to the side. The couch he sat on vanished as he stepped off from his seat, moving to the side to allow Mokuba a clear view. "Just how much about you does she know really? Or care about you?" he continued, narrowing his eyes. "As I recall," the boy went on, "She almost had you killed! Not at all the behaviour one would expect from a sister... Why, you wouldn't even expect it from a passing friend, let alone a family member..." Hnhnhnhnhn...

Mokuba merely grit his teeth in the fact of the words, sitting up with a growl as he threw up a hurried and failing defense. "That... That was 'before'," he countered, shaking his head, "Not 'now'; things are different now... She remembers who she was!" he continued with wide eyes, "She remembers the kind of person she really is! She's not living the life that Gozaburo forced her to any more!"

"Mnnnnn..." The boy shook his head, sighing almost in amusement as he moved toward Mokuba's couch. "Of course... Of course not... After all," Noa continued in a seemingly 'off-handed' fashion, "Why would someone as 'powerful' as your sister be afraid of anything right?" he asked, his guest tensing at the question. "Hnnn... How about we both watch a video?" he decided, taking a seat as his two programs did the same to flank the boys. "I'll even introduce you to my creations; you've already met Kisara," he said plainly, the girl bowing her head as Mokuba drew back in fear, "And this here is Seraph... He was your 'Katsuya-nii's guide," he explained, the winged boy also bowing as their guest stared in slight unease. "Now-"

"Where's my sister?" Mokuba growled, not wasting another moment as he flinched away from Noa's arm, the boy having moved to pull him close. "I want to go back to her, to tell her I'm alright," he pressed, Noa momentarily pulling the arm back. "So where's my sister?"

"Your sister..? Hn..." A smirk came over his face, and with the wave of his hand an image appeared on the screen, an image of a night-time highway. "Why don't we take a look..."

* * *

As the motorcycle drove through the bridge the stars themselves had faded from view, leaving her under a blank night sky and an enormous moon. All she could see besides this however, even with that one light, were the passing supports for the railing at the side as her bike ran at top speed through the darkness. There was nothing in sight that she could see or hear, and not even the sound of another bike met her ears as she drove, arms locked in an automatically developed 'armor' from the machine that had wrapped about her head and face.

Even with this she could see what lay below. Beneath her and the bridge lay numerous buildings, surrounded on the sides by immense cliffs with countless walls and cave entrances. A city, an earth and seabound city. An almost impossibly advanced city she could even say, with the motorcycle she drove moving with more glide and speed than anything she had even dreamed in the 'real world', and the buildings below seeming to radiate with a bizarre mix of renaissance and post-modernism with their style. The bike even seemed to match it in that regard when she thought about it.

It was loud, true, but there was no exhaust, no smog of any kind or pipes to release it, allowing the machine to gain an even smoother appearance than it could ever have had in reality as it ran. There was nothing else there...

There was merely the bike and the road, the device moving with such a speed that it was almost as though her very rage propelled it forward.

And then she saw the man.

The tall man standing with his back to her in the shadows, the man who now blocked her path. "Gh- MOVE!" she shouted, the cinder blocks at the side of the bridge forcing her into a single narrowed path as she hurriedly began to activate the 'un-lock' codes on the bike. The man, cloaked in a trench coat and hat said nothing as he turned to stare, merely watching her through a gas mask of sorts as she swallowed. Damn it... "I SAID MO- GH-!"

With added rage the bike sprang forward, even as she pulled at the brakes and attempted to stop.

- _SCREEEEEEEEE-_ Shit...

SHIT! "GH- HAGH!"

The bike skidded past the edge of the bridge as the man faded from existence where she'd hit him, Seto leaping off to grab at the bridge above as the device clattered below. Damn it... That man had completely obscured the bridge's gap, she hadn't been able to even guess that she would be driving to her death! If it hadn't have been for that last minute decision...

"Hah... Hah... Ngh... Gh..." Fingers slipped somewhat on the stone as she struggled to hold on, biting her lip and looking down at where her bike had fallen. Well... There went that option. Stupid, moronic old man... "Gh... Bastard," she muttered, managing to pull one arm up as she winced before falling back. "...Nh!" Seto looked up with an initial glare, eyes widening as the mask-wearing man loomed above her with no visible emotion in place. "...You..."

_Him-_! "Hn... Hypnos," the man muttered, Seto's eyes abruptly beginning to close over against her will. H-Hyp... That was...

Sleep wasn't...

Hn... No... No, she told herself as her grip began to fail, she couldn't...

"Sleep, 'Ojou-sama'... And enjoy the ride. Hnhnhnhnhn..." That voice...

No... No...

As her fingers slipped from the bridge, her final thoughts were that of rage, only to be pacified by the sudden exhaustion that numbed her feeling of collapse as she fell backward. That...

That voice...

She knew who that voice was... It was...

It was... Nn...

... ... ...

* * *

"Ngh! Aah! Hah... Hah... hah..." Seto's eyes flew open with a jolt, the woman pulling herself up from the ground with wide eyes and looking herself over in a panic. Sword was there, armor was there...

...Hat was gone but no matter. And the bridge, she noted as she looked up was...

Up... There...

Her eyes widened further with incredulity, the woman pulling herself to her feet to stare. She...

She'd fallen from that distance and survived?! "What the hell..."

How was that even possible..! "I see you've awakened," a voice muttered plainly, Seto jumping to her feet as the familiar voice of her former 'assistant' came to the air. Even without the face, it was easy to tell who she was dealing with right now.

"Gh- Daimon," she hissed, drawing her blade as the bizarrely tall figure stood before her. "It would figure you're the one I have to fight first..." Everyone else had fought already...

But Daimon seemed to be just the sort to wait at the end for someone to come to him. Unless...

"...Assuming we are fighting," she muttered, holding her stance with narrowed eyes as the man chuckled.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Correct," Daimon stated, the gas mask on his face making him look decidedly war-appropriate. "It's been a long time, 'Ojou-san'... I assume you've been doing well?" Hn!

The woman ground her teeth, refusing to grace the man with an answer. Again with the 'ojou-san'... It was beginning to really... Really, grate her nerves... "You..." There was no time for this bullshit. None at all. "Where's Mokuba?" she spat, the man before her merely staring through the glass 'eyes' of his gas mask in apparent obliviousness.

"Oh... Mokuba?" he repeated, Seto continuing to snarl. "Hnnn..." Bastard...

"Your 'friend' Ota kidnapped him," the woman growled, shifting her stance as her sword gleamed in the moonlight, "Now where is he!"

Daimon shrugged, shaking his head before clapping leather clad hands against each other and standing from what had apparently been a seated position. The man was extremely tall, or whatever form he'd taken at least was. As to what 'monster' that could possibly be...

Seto held her gaze, listening as the man sighed and stared her down. "Really... Roping me into such dirty business. Someone with a child in his arms did pass me on the bridge, but you know me... I don't really care for children," he hissed, soon to be opponent clenching her fists.

"You... Resorting to kidnapping of all things," Seto growled, pacing cautiously forward as her opponent watched. "What did you do with him?"

"I did nothing," the man chuckled darkly, again shaking his head. "It's Noa-sama you should be worried about... There's no telling what he'll do now that he has his own 'little brother to play' with after all! Hnhnhnhn..." His own-

This... This...

That couldn't be why!

"Bastard!" The woman charged, only to swing her sword at empty space as her opponent seemingly teleported to the clearing behind her. Seto reeled on the spot, cape flapping in the dull wind about them. "You-"

"Hn! You'll have to do better than that," her opponent taunted, adjusting the cap on his head before continuing to chuckle. "As I recall," he went on, "You were more of a 'kick' type of person... Seeing you with a blade is rather interesting to say the least, let alone anything concerning the upper body..."

Interesting was it? "Not as interesting as it will look when it's embedded in your skull," she muttered lowly, eyes flashing as she turned on her opponent completely. This should work... "Hn... FIRE!" she roared, a wide plume of flames escaping from her mouth as she faced her opponent.

As the fires wrapped around him however a sheet of glass seemed to appear, Seto's mouth locking shut with surprise as he heard the man whisper...

"Reflect." Rel-

"Gh!" The fires she'd sent forward rushed over her body, sending wracking pains through her entire form as she was forced to one knee. "Hhhh... Hhhh..." The woman bit back a scream, digging her sword into the ground for support as she looked up with a snarl. "You..."

Daimon merely sighed, crossing his arms from where he stood on a nearby cement ruin. "Our fight hasn't even started yet Ojou-san... You need to mind your manners; after all," the man warned darkly, chuckling entering the air, "If you expect to see your little brother again, you have me to go through." Gh...

Damn it all! "You..." This, all of this... It was ridiculous. "Completely ridiculous! You think you stand a chance against me?" she spat, already returning to her feet as she pulled the blade from the ground, "With the skills you have now?"

The man shrugged, waving off the topic as though the question meant nothing at all. "Perhaps not in an ordinary duel," he stated clearly, a fierce wind beginning to blow through the sea-side city, "But I've already proven capable of sending anything you send my way back on its head. Now..." He snapped his fingers, expression unseen from behind the mask as a dome of light shimmered into existence around Seto. "Seeing how this wouldn't be at all entertaining if I were to merely pummel you with these spells, how about we get things started? I have my deck," Daimon explained, holding his hand out in an open and 'inviting' gesture despite all identities and purposes, "Now you choose yours; God cards are excluded of course," the man stated plainly, "But you'll find all you need for your deck in there... And I'm sure you remember how the system works from last time," he continued, his opponent narrowing her eyes in response. Hn!

As though she could forget...

The dome of cards hovered and glowed around her almost warmly, the woman quickly and silently picking her cards with a growl as one by one the cards vanished from sight. One, two... Five, ten... Twenty... Forty... And they were all there with that last number, the dome vanishing in a flash as she continued to hold her sword in her free hand.

"I'm done," she growled, opponent nodding in response.

"And your deckmaster," he asked, the woman merely snatching at one of the cards as they began to appear before her. "Also done," she responded coldly, the red of her leather armor replaced with black as it was lined with bone gauntlets and plates rather than leather covering. "I've chosen the Lord of Dragons... And yours?" Seto asked, slowly shifting into a more advantageous stance as the duel start approached.

Her opponent chuckled, Seto narrowing her eyes as the man shook his head. "Well... I'd love to tell you," he told her, shrugging as he again adjusted his hat, "But I'm afraid that's a surprise; I don't think you'd be able to stand it if I told you now... Hnhnhnhnhn..." Unable to 'stand it'? Oh please...

The last time she was 'here' she'd given herself fifth and sixth degree burns on her own arm, she could probably 'handle it'.

"Hn!" Moron... "As though that could possibly happen," the woman sneered, expression tightening as her opponent seemed to 'mist' up the sides of the nearest building and out of reach. "You're just afraid of what this 'blue fire' will burn now that you've given it fuel... Try me," she roared, rushing forward to hop along the sides of a sky-scraper's wall as her opponent hovered ahead of her and laughed. "STAND AND FIGHT!"

"Very well then," her opponent announced, still flying back along the air as he expertly dodged each strike the woman attempted to land on his form. "I set a monster in defense and set two cards," he stated, the three panels of glass appearing before him, "End turn!" Hn!

Hers then! "Spear Dragon," Seto announced, kicking off the glass panels to briefly fall back as the pterodactyl like beast appeared from the air and clouds themselves. The monster soared upward with the woman on her back, Seto's blade pointed downward for her 'move'. "Attack the defense monster!” she ordered, the monster rising high above the skyline of the city as she stood at its head. "HAAAAAAAA-AH!"

Metal clashed with metal as glass shattered behind her, both herself and the spear dragon diving down for alternate reasons as she kicked off the monster's head. Pushing her blade against the leather coated hands she froze however, eyes widening as slight sparks flew from the contact in those split seconds.

"Gh- Meta-"

"Hurricane," Daimon stated calmly, his opponent squeezing her eyes shut in the attack as the sensation of knives spread across them. Sharper... Sharper...

"GHN!" A blast of wind forced the woman back as they were shot from both hands, Seto flipping onto her feet in mid air before holding her sword up in defense against whatever else came. "Tch... Of all things..." The woman looked over the hand in her mind, slowly circling her opponent as they faced each other on the roof. "I set a card face down," she continued, already forming the virus strategy together, recovering her strength as she stared at where her opponent stood. "End turn!"

"Hm! You're too naive..." Naive? The term had Seto frozen just briefly in shock and confusion as the man continued, Seto squinting as she attempted to locate the man in the storm. "The monster you destroyed was Hiro's Shadow Scout after all," her opponent was saying, form slowly becoming more visible in the fading gale, "And you know what that means..."

The woman frowned, a 'notice' appearing in the back of her mind. 'Hiro's Scout'... Typical. "Hn!" Three cards were drawn in the back of her mind, 'Double Snare' and 'Magic Reflector' both sent to the grave thanks to their status as spells. "You don't need to remind me what each card does," she spat, bringing her sword back to her side as she charged the man yet again again, "It matters little any ways!"

"Does it now?" the man asked from a distance, holding his place in the oncoming strike "Your attack activated my card after all! 'Solemn Wishes'," Daimon explained, his second panel of glass vanishing into a shimmering dust that faded about him. "Granting me 500 life points as each time I draw a card. And of course," he continued, any damage done to the metal beneath his gloves repairing instantly as he 'swooped' out of the way of the attacking woman's strike, "While that takes effect, I'll be setting another monster and card." Hn! Like that mattered...

Briefly she halted her attack, watching her opponent re-appear across from her at another end of the 'city' with a scowl. "I summon Giant Germ," Seto called out, the air materializing into the large amoeba at her side, "And in addition," she announced, hopping the gap between buildings as she brought up her blade in a spearing motion. "Spear Dragon enters attack mode and targets your monster!"

"Activate trap," Daimon suddenly announced as the woman fell toward his lower roof.

"GH!" The woman was abruptly slammed back by some force against her face, body smashing through the window of a lower level building before she stood to cough. "Hn... Agh! ...What..!" Something on her face...

What was...

The woman pulled at what had locked around her face, opponent's voice coming close as the man seemed to fly near. "Gh... Where..." Where was...

"The Mask of Perplexity," Daimon's echoing voice announced, "Obscuring your vision for one turn..." Great!

Just wonderful she growled mentally, giving up on the straps to look down at her surroundings. Shards of glass revealed on her face the beaked plague doctor's mask of the medieval European times, dull brown leather somewhat clashing against the black and white of her current costume. But while the shards of glass revealed this, she could barely see a thing besides that... She still had an attack to made though she told herself, narrowing her eyes. She wanted this over as soon as possible after all, and nothing was stopping that!

"Tch... Resume the attack," she ordered, barely recognizing the form of her spear dragon as she hopped on its back to charge forward. "And just to make sure it connects," she continued, rising into the air as her cape furled behind her in the wind, "I'll be using this; _AERO_!"

- _fsst_!-

The glass across her mask cleared with that very word, and all at once the woman froze. Before her the blast of air had cut through a target yes, but it had not been her own.

"What..."

"Hnhnhnhn... Looks like you attacked your own monster," Daimon laughed, smoke hissing free of the destroyed Giant Germ. "Your 'failsafe' only dug you further into a hole!" Tch... True. She'd killed her own monster, but nonetheless!

"At least you're still the one who suffers," she sneered, poisonous gas beginning to fill the air from the destroyed cell as she leaped forward from the dragon. "Seeing how the Germ's destruction gives me both another identical germ, deals five hundred points of damage to you, and activates my trap in the process!" she snarled, swinging her blade forward as the metal proved itself as a separate medium of attack. "FIRE!"

Even as the flames caught onto the fog and incinerated all in sight, her opponent continued to chuckle. "Is that what you think now?" he asked, voice faded and distorted as she landed to a stop on the top of the building she'd charged toward. All at once the poisoned fog cleared, and from the side came a beam of energy that sent her skidding through the nearest building as she attempted to brace herself with her sword and stop the fall.

"GH- Nggghaaaaa!" Face down she landed, pulling up her blade to use as a hand hold as she grimaced and turned to the side. "Gh... Damn it..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Have you guessed who I am yet?" Daimon laughed, his opponent throwing her mask to the side as it evaporated into smoke. This monster...

The woman narrowed her eyes as the flaming figure stepped through the hole in the building, gas masked tossed to the side as the fires slowly petered down to reveal ashen clumps and holes in the jacket and hat.

_CRAP_. "Tch... Psycho Shocker," she hissed in shock and anger both, using her sword as support as she pulled herself to her feet and back into a fighting position. This building was going to collapse she noted, looking to the cracking pillars with wide eyes. Two panels of glass appeared at her opponent's side as he set a pair of cards, the woman taking a moment to ponder the effects an attack would have on the building. None of her traps were going to work any more...

But more importantly, if she so much as moved this thing would collapse on top of her, ending her life regardless. So how...

How would she fight?

"How about a change in scenery?" the psycho shocker sneered from the other end of the room, Seto tensing as the field was abruptly replaced with her late 'father's board room. "Don't worry... The memory will expand for us to fight, you won't be able to ruin anything here. I might have spent my time selling weapons with Gozaburo," Daimon went on almost approvingly, "But even I have to admit your talent when it comes to this virtual software ojou-chan... And besides that, I've been waiting for this for a long time," he muttered lowly, knuckles cracking as he stared forward through glass lens eyes. "The chance to settle the score with you, to end this once and for all! And all while I show you just what brought us here!"

"Gh-"

This memory...

The woman's expression tightened, narrowing her eyes as voices muttered around her and the room smoked further into existence. "You..."

"I suppose that talent is why you did it really," Daimon was muttering, the man pacing around the table that appeared as they both stared each other down. "Gozaburo was going to effectively steal your work... He already had in fact," the man continued with a cruel chuckle, "Your programming is so incredibly helpful that even after three years, it's still in use by numerous countries! It's only natural then I suppose, that you would pressure the man into death, with all that he used your precious 'game' for..." Bringing up this day-!

"Bastard," she hissed, remembering the event well enough as past selves and images hovered before them.

_'Starting today_ ,' her 'father' had told her, sitting across from the girl at the far end of the table, ' _Your lessons are over. You have now surpassed my expectations; and I am more than pleased... In fact_ ,' he'd continued, the present day counterpart momentarily freezing as an employee passed by to bring a case of bills to the table, _'I have a gift...For both of you boys,_ ' the man continued, Mokuba blinking curiously from behind his sister as they sat in the room. ' _Two percent of the company shares for one,_ ' Gozaburo began, gesturing for his employee to open the case, ' _And for another, Seto... Your final test..._ ' Gh...

The woman snapped herself from her stupor as the pacing continued, eyes narrowing briefly before she swung her sword forward. "Enough with the slide shows!” Seto barked, hopping the table to attempt at spearing her opponent with the blade. "I already know what happened after this," she continued, "I don't have any time for reminiscing!"

Daimon merely chuckled, misting out of existence to the other end of the room as the blade approached. "Really now? You don't think there's anything you should be thinking over?" His opponent frowned, turning to face the 'man' as the image of her younger self being handed a pen and paper came to view. "Tch... That test you were given... It should have been impossible," the monster sneered, the scene shifting as Gozaburo explained it to her past life. "' _Take one hundred million yen and multiply 100 fold in a year_ '... Most CEO's can't even hope to do that in the time you did," Daimon spat, "And yet you passed in a way that shocked even your father!" Jealous was he?

The woman snorted, merely narrowing her eyes as the IOU on the table was signed. That man... "The man was never my 'father'," she sneered, slowly approaching her opponent as the room melted into the library classroom with Mokuba, hopping off the table to hold her sword forward. "I personally don't see how he could have ever been one..."

"Really now... You'd be surprised," the man hissed, fading from sight as the woman approached. "Very surprised..."

"Gh- DAIMON!" she snarled, only to have her angered shouts cut short as she turned to meet instead with the rest of her memory. "Tch..."

_'Nii-sama,_ ' a younger Mokuba asked, voice echoing through the air. This library was a familiar room, she told herself, resuming the search for her opponent in the room. A room she'd taken most of her classes in, a room that she actively avoided now. A room that held almost all of her memories from the house... _'Nii-sama, how are we going to do this?_ ' her brother had asked that day, sitting on one of the stools in worry, ' _He said he'll send us back if we can't make it, I-_ '

_'Stop worrying,_ ' she'd said flatly, Daimon standing at the side for supervision as ordered. ' _And watch; you see these cards?_ ' the girl asked, gesturing to a pile she'd made to demonstrate the very principle of her conversation to the boy, ' _This test is like a game. Like the stocks, each card represents a portion of power over a company, 1 percent._ ' she explained. _'The one with the largest share of the company has complete domination. So,_ ' the teen had continued, flipping over a number of the cards, until half of the pile 'plus 1' was facing them. _'If you own fifty-one percent of a company, what do you think happens?_ '

' _You... No one can stop you, right?_ ' the boy asked, an almost villainous gleam appearing in Seto's eyes at that time. ' _Because you'll always have more!_ ' Exactly.

' _Right; Daimon,_ ' she'd ordered, the present day version watching with dull and narrowed eyes as history literally repeated itself before her, _'I want you to find the most profitable company that we can afford to buy 51 percent of the shares from and do just that; make sure they are a traditionally minded and employee friendly one before the purchase however, understand?_ '

Daimon had tensed, looking to the girl in confusion as he ran the strategy over in his mind. ' _All... ALL of it?_ ' he asked incredulously, the girl again nodding.

' _Yes. And remember... It needs to be employee friendly..._ '

The results were seen just soon enough, the memory scarcely changing as the real-version of the woman continued to search for her opponent. Cards had been gathered back up and placed in her 'deck holder book'. Daimon entered the room again near to the middle of the day, to announce that he'd monopolized a company successfully. _'It's a ceramics company with over 300 years of history,_ ' he'd explained, setting up a powerpoint that had been given to him after the transaction. ' _A company that is very well known for their employee support._ '

Mokuba's face had lit up considerably with that, staring at the screen with wonder as the building and products both came over the screen. ' _Ehhh... C-Cool! You own a company already!_ ' her brother had cheered, Seto ignoring the boy at the time. ' _It's all yours_!'

' _True,_ ' she'd said plainly, ' _But even with this, it would be impossible to multiply our former finances 100 fold from profit alone on time._ ' At this her brother's face had fallen somewhat, the boy staring in confusion while his sister explained. ' _We're going to use another way to 'win',_ ' she continued with a smirk, the others frowning. ' _Daimon... Show me this company's office..._ '

"Your intellect of that time was almost frightening," Daimon hissed from behind the woman, Seto jumping as the scene melted to that of the ceramic's building. "To pass this test... ...Absolutely horrifying..."

"Gh- Stand and fight," she snarled in response, swinging her blade forward as the monster knocked the strike back with a metal hand. Behind her she was pressuring the CEO of the ceramics company with an ultimatum. Buy back each of her shares for five times the price, or pay the price of firing each and every one of his employees including himself. "I don't need to remember this... I already know how I passed that test!" Seto continued, attempting to attack her opponent's middle only to be thrown viciously to the side. "GH! Just what... Just what is it that you really want?" she hissed, pulling herself up from the imitated bookshelf.

"What do I want?" Daimon growled, avoiding each slice and lunge Seto attacked with as the scene around them began to falter. "What else? Your life! I'm going to kill you here," the man announced darkly, "Ending the existence of the thing that took mine! You earned the quota for that test within ONE DAY!" he roared, the scene melting and shifting intermittently with the roofs of the buildings from before as his opponent pushed back to frown. "ONE DAY, it was something that Gozaburo had never imagined possible! The sheer ruthlessness you displayed in your tactics was incredible, so much that you managed to scare even HIM!" Scare him? Oh did she now?

Seto narrowed her eyes, blade glowing with energy as she held it forward. "Tch... Complain to someone who cares," she spat, leaving the spell within her sword as she spun the handle in her hands. "And continue the fight! Spear dragon attacks!" she announced, charging forward once more with her sword, now that the scene had come to its end, "GO!"

With the sound of shattering glass the memory broke, a vicious gale blasting Seto back through the windows of the building they'd stood in just prior. The bits of glass faded into the air as she landed across the window of the next building over, and with a haggard swallow she pulled herself up to glare toward her opponent. "Gh-! What on earth..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Cyber Jar's effect activates," Daimon chuckled. "All monsters on the field are destroyed," he announced almost with amusement, "And each player draws five cards, special summoning any level four or lower monsters from their hands..."

Hn! "Fine; Blood Vorse in attack mode, and twin headed behemoth in defense," the woman responded, kicking off from the building to re-direct her trajectory off one of the appearing monsters as it fell. "And as for my attack," she continued, the Blood Vorse following her lead as the Behemoth used his flight to effectively turn himself into a jump platform, "I'll end your life long before you end mine! FIRE!"

More chuckling came through the air, and instantly the woman paled. "Forgetting something..?" Gh-

Shit! "I spent an entire year at your side," Daimon spat, mirror appearing around the man as the flames were redirected to blast his opponent into the roof of the building below, "Don't think I don't know you well enough to fight you! Your reliance on yourself and your monsters is going to bring your end," he snarled, the woman coming to rest on the window ledge of one of the many buildings, "And without trap cards, you're nothing! Activate the spell 'Watch Tranquilizer,'" he continued, Seto grinding her teeth as the Blood Vorse grew lethargic on the building across from her. "The spell lowers a monster's attack by 100 points per level... 400 points in this case, correct?" he sneered, opponent shaking with rage as she stared at the monster's location. Tch...

"That's right," she spat, currently lacking the access to a decent foot hold to reach the man across from her it seemed. "But that doesn't mean you win just yet! I... Believe in this deck," she stated clearly, mentally kicking herself for using something her rival would more likely say despite the truth of the term. "And regardless of power, the Blood Vorse attacks!" Seto announced, pointing the monster forward as it snarled. "GO!"

"And in that time," her opponent countered, "My monster's effect activates!" W-

What-

...Damn it all, she thought bitterly, the effect coming through her mind courtesy of the menu. "The Injection Angel Lily can be given 3000 additional attack points with the sacrifice of two thousand lifepoints," Daimon explained with a laugh, the angel in question just now revealing herself from the clouds above. "So how about we level the score! Go!" he ordered, the angel at his side pulling back the plunger on the syringe as she charged, "Exterminate them!"

" _Hnhnhnhn! Time for an injection!_ " the girl announced, sending the needle forward with a smile. The expression abruptly shifted into a crazed and cackling grin, water rising from the seas behind her as she cackled. " _TSUNAMI!_ " Wh-

This thing used spells too?

Water threw the woman flat on her back and against the pent house of the building as it fell from the many feet above her, monster drowned in the attack, as her blade clattered to the ground by the force. "GH... GHA _AAAAHHH_! Hnggg..!" Stinging...

The water stung every inch of her body, as though formed from an acid of sorts rather than the seas. The fluids receding helped the matters little either it seemed; the pain remained even after this fact, and as Seto stood up from where she'd collapsed she could to no more than scowl in range. "Hnhnhnhnhn... My victory will be both over-powering and complete," Daimon sneered, smirk hidden behind the steel 'mask' that made up the Psycho Shocker's mouth. "The Angel's attack power returns to normal of course," the man added, "But I activate the card Sobek's blessing as well, giving me just as many life points as you lost. ...I'll put another monster in defense mode as well I think," he continued, chuckling rumbling through the air as he did so. "...Before I watch what you do now that is..." Hn...

"Kh! Glk! KACH!" Seto coughed, spitting out the water that had poured down her throat before grabbing her sword from the side with labored breaths. Water had flooded her lungs, burning her insides even now... "Hah..." Alright...

The 'Angel' couldn't well attack unless Daimon gave it an extra point bonus she told herself, silently pondering her hand over. Any monster she had could easily defeat it otherwise of course; but the fact still remained that this man had a steady loop of healing and it was working more effectively than she'd like. This monster would work she told herself, mentally fingering the card as her behemoth came close. It would work perfectly...

If nothing else happened.

"Tch... I set a monster face down!" she shouted in the end, pushing from the edge of the building jumping off her remaining and visible monster to the next one. Regardless of how things went she told herself, she was the type to over come anything given time; she wouldn't be impatient about this, nor would she move without thinking... "My turn is over," she called out plainly. "Do your worst..."

"Hn. Not attacking are you?" her opponent asked, Seto merely narrowing her eyes in response as she turned to face the monster above her. "Well then... Before it comes to my turn," Daimon stated, "My trap 'Life Absorbing Machine' activates; I gain half the amount of life points I paid last turn," the man explained, standing atop one of the ruined buildings as still more of his wounds and clothing patched over. "And now... Let me show you the most powerful weapon Gozaburo ever made!" he laughed, rumbling echoing through the air as Seto found herself griping the building for support.

"Gh-" Shaking continued to peal through the air, weakened buildings toppling over each other as she held onto hers. "..What..!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I'm tributing my defense monster to summon a weapon that will have you on your knees in seconds," Daimon roared, gesturing upward as the grumbling increased in volume. "The satellite cannon! Just try and defeat it!" he said with a laugh, Seto gritting her teeth as an enormous rocket burst through the ground to send the buildings collapsing on each other, "You won't make it without seven levels..!" Seven...

The building she stood in began to topple onto its side, her own part facing the ground as she scowled. "Tch..! Aero!" she spat as she turned around, blasting the windows in her collapsing building and running through to the opposite side as the concrete itself cracked apart. Despite the difficulty in scaling moving objects she made it easily to the nearest building, staring upward with wide eyes. "Daimon," she sneered, pushing out through the other end to glare at the man. "Believe me when I say this... I'll do more than just 'defeat' that!"


	12. Star Above

"I don't believe this," Ren hissed, shaking his head as the trike-truck plowed through the darkness of the cavern.

The cavern in question was rather roomy compared to what one would expect; if anything, it seemed to have been carved to specifically form a 'street' of sorts, and while the truck was having no problems with it, the others were just a little confused as to how they'd gotten here.

"You're incredible, you know that?" the snake was complaining, currently coiled on the one of Anzu's arms closest to Jonouchi's ear. "I mean... You turn onto a straight highway, and you still manage to get yourself lost in a tunnel. You're the worst driver I know Jonouchi, seriously."

The blond in question merely growled at the comment, glancing back at the crowd of passengers he had to address the snake as it flicked its tongue in and out impatiently. "Well, it ain't like this was my idea," he spat, expertly guiding them around another rock fall as rumbling hit the air in the distance. For a moment everyone froze, looking up at the ceiling as it shuddered. After nothing happened however they continued on, picking up the conversation where it left off as they exited the tunnel.

"It might not have been your idea," Otogi was saying on the topic as came out along some cliff-face road, "But we're still not safe here..."

The blond sighed, tensing at the wheel for a moment before a sarcastic grin came on his face. "Y' know Otogi, I could kill us all righ' now!" he argued "...But I'm not, so stuff it."

Otogi merely rolled his eyes at the feeble threat, before a rumbling boom echoed through the air across from them. A shock-wave passed through the cliff, brakes pulled instantly as the others turned to stare toward the cityscape before them. "A-Ahh... What was that?" the dancer shouted incredulously, staring off as the others stood to do the same.

"Oh... It looks almost like a rocket," Jonouchi muttered, the white 'torpedo' like device in question shooting up from a plume of white smoke as he said this. "Hell, I think it is!"

"I don't think so," Anzu muttered with narrowed eyes, shaking her head as the 'stick' traveled through the night sky before them. "Wouldn't it be wider?"

Honda as well stared, lens eyes shining somewhat as he took in the sight. Yeah... You'd think it would be wid-

Ah! An image appeared in the back of his mind, the dog reeling in his excitement lest his 'mouth' open up. This... This was-!

"Wourf! Rouf, Aourf! Auf! AORF!"

A satellite, he tried to shout, tail thumping his carrier's lap. It was a satellite cannon, they always looked like that when they were launched in anime! And... And...

The others ignored him for the most part, Shizuka merely scratching his back as he growled in annoyance. Damn it, listen to him! He was trying to answer their questions!

"Auf aouf! Aouf! RrrraOUF!"

"I swear t' god SHUT THA' THING UP!" Jonouchi shouted from the front, currently getting the truck back on track now that the satellite excitement was over.

"Ah- Sorry," Shizuka shouted nervously, Honda merely giving a low whine as he momentarily gave into being unable to speak. "But nihan... We should probably look for a safer route," she continued, frowning as she looked over the side of the cliff. "Or at least one safe enough to pick up speed..."

"Oh, that's right," Ren muttered, shifting from where he now sat next to Honda. "We need to find that 'Honda' guy right?" he asked, turning up as the serpent coiled comfortably on his partner's lap.

Anzu frowned, narrowing her eyes in slight amusement. "Yes... Because that's exactly what we call him," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Ngnnnnnn..." Damn it, he was right there! If they could just listen... The snake beside him seemed to 'shrug', turning its back to look over the cliff as Honda continued to stare. "Rouuuur-ouu..." Man, this was just terrible...

He couldn't speak, and here was this snake that had everyone's attention easily! Not to mention, this thin-

Oh... Honda 'blinked', shuffling closer to the snake in question as he stared. There were some odd symbols on its back he noted, a 'screen' of sorts appearing in the corner of his eye as it scanned the source. Hieroglyphs, untranslatable, the screen said. Ohh... Hieroglyphs huh...

Wait. Anzu didn't know squat about Egypt, that was Yugi's field! And seeing how this wasn't Yugi, the only other Egyptians were-

The dog abruptly pulled himself to his feet, growling viciously as he began to bark. "Grrrrrrrr... ROU! ROUF RAOUF RAOUF!" The serpent jumped as its 'travel partne snarled, slithering up Anzu's arm for safety with a yelp. "RAOUF! ROUF! ROUF!"

"A-A-AHH! Koinu-chan!" Shizuka shouted nervously, pulling the dog back lest it attack her friend, "What's going on!"

"Gh- W-What's wrong with this thing!" Ren shouted, pulled back by Anzu with wide eyes as it attempted to slither further and further backward. "I swear, its mask even moved!"

"Why is it even barking at you?" his partner countered, the serpent shaking its head.

"How am I supposed to know, I- I..!" Malik!

It was Malik, he told himself, continuing to snarl despite the problems he had with his mouth. It had to be, it just had to! The gold colour, the purple eyes, the speech patterns...

The Egyptian hieroglyphs..! They were all there, and yet no one had noticed! "ROU-ROU-ROUR! RRRRRRRR RRA _AAAAAAGGGHHHGGGG! RRRAAAAAAAAAGGHHH_!"

"Ahh... AAAHHH..!" The dog was dropped immediately, the crowd pulling back with screams and shock as the 'thing' rolled over on the ground to continue its attack. The truck was stopped just as swiftly with the screams while the driver turned, and in an instant he could see why the shouts had been made in the first place.

"EE-YAAAHHH!"

"W-WHAT IS IT!" Otogi was shouting, knives at the ready as the 'dog', head resembling some sort of twisted form of piranha plant, snarled in rage at the snake in Anzu's hands. "What the hell is this thing!"

"Oh HEL- See, this is why I said t' kill it!" Jonouchi shouted, ignoring the snarls from the beast as he hopped into the trailer and grabbed his staff, Yugi as well snatching his boomerang as the dog was met with a set of five weapons.

He couldn't bring himself to care that he had blades and sticks in his face however, and despite the appearance of his face he continued. "RAAA _AAARRRRGGGHHH... RAAAAAAAAAAA_!" They were morons..! MORONS! He right behind them, their enemy was right there! Sitting in Anzu's arms, staring at him now! "RAAAOUR! ROUR, ROU! RAOO RRRGGGHHHH!!" Open their eyes! Listen to him, just listen damn it, he was trying to warn them! Li- "Y-erf!"

"Ah- Nihan!"

The dog cringed as it was smacked soundly on the head with the staff, panels retreating as it whined and curled up. With ease the puppy was snatched up by the collar, Jonouchi holding it at arms length as he looked to the others with a smirk. No one had really moved to attack the thing before; there was too much shock involved concerning the formerly passive puppy that had suddenly gone 'rabid'. As the blond grinned however there was silence, the dog still growling as he laughed.

"Hey- anyone got a rope?"

* * *

Minutes, cut robe hems, and much tying later and the engine was continuing to rumble loudly, growling still coming from the monstrous dog as Ren stared toward the beast from a relatively safe distance. "Sheeeeesh," he muttered, looking decidedly pale for a serpent in the dog's eyes. "This thing's pissed!"

The snake's response was a rather loud snarl from the puppy, the others still staring at the thing with wide eyes as it thrashed.

"I wonder why though," Shizuka asked, crossing her arms in confusion as she gripped her spear. "He was perfectly fine a moment ago..."

"Ah... How do we even know it's a 'he'?" Yugi asked from near the front, a slight frown on his face as he again proved quite easily that it was the 'other' and not the 'real' one. "Is there a-"

"Yes," the girl said rather uncomfortably before the boy finished, the dog in question briefly halting its growls as a few feelers seemed to 'check'. "Yes he does."

And thank god for that, Honda thought to himself with a sigh; he was having a bad enough day as it was, becoming a girl wasn't going to help.

"Hn! Stupid dog," Jonouchi muttered near the front, an angry growl coming from the 'mutt' in question as the panels pulled back once again.

"GRAAAAA! GRAA _AHHHGGG RAAAAOUR! ROUUUUURRRRRGGHH_!" Gh..! He wasn't just a stupid dog damn it, it was HIM! HONDA! ...And...

And... The snarls paused just momentarily, low growling held to keep 'Ren' at bay as he winced. And he was very, very sorry Shizuka. Very sorry. About not having pants. What with being a dog and all. Um...

...Well this was awkward.

"Hahhh... I still can't help but feel sorry for the little guy," Anzu muttered, shaking her head with a grimace. "It did seem fine until it spotted your hood Ren..." "Maybe it thinks he's a threat," Otogi offered with a shrug. "Cobras certainly aren't the 'safest' of things."

"But then why not attack earlier?" Yugi asked in response, narrowing his eyes. "Ren's hood wasn't even flared, which is the warning sign for a strike," he continued somewhat knowledgeably, again shaking his head. "No... Something's missing..."

Something like their brains! How were they unable to figure this out! It was MALIK!

Malik, Malik, MALIK! "RAOUR! ROU-RAOUR! RARRRRRGGGHHH!" Come on! Listen!

"Hey... This is weird..."

The dog tensed, pulling back as the sides of his head drew backward with the approaching cobra. The snake had gotten oddly curious as it spotted something among the feelers, and despite the fact that it would likely lose in a fight against the puppy, Honda wanted absolutely nothing to do with the thing the snake represented.

And of course they were worried about the bastard, seeing how he'd apparently charmed his way into the group as some kind of 'pet'. "AH- Should you really be going near that thing?" Anzu asked, eyes wide as the serpent poked his head forward curiously. "It just tried to eat you didn't it?"

"Eh, I'll be fine," he responded, despite the cautious growls and snarls from the dog as he approached. "Check it out," Ren continued, pulling up enough to match the puppy's height and peer within its head. "This thing doesn't have a throat or anything, and the teeth are too spaced apart to even touch me!"

Oh really now?

And what if he did this then? "Not to mention, I think I see a- AAH! SHIT!"

"R-REN!" the serpent's partner shouted, standing from her seat as the flaps on the mouth shut completely around the snake.

"HEY! Spit it out!" Otogi growled, pulling at the dog's head panels as it shifted into a completely round sphere. "Come on, cough it up you rat!"

The dog merely continued to resist against the pulls as the snake's still visible tail flailed, Yugi and Shizuka both watching in somewhat blank silence for the moment.

"Holy- It's hollow in here!" came Ren's voice, the shout echoing somewhat about the metal dome as it seeped out into the air. "And dark too... But mostly hollow! Lots of wires in this thing," he continued, pulling in slightly as the tail briefly stopped moving. "W-What is this?" Ren shouted abruptly, the slight calm the others had developed suddenly vanishing. What was it? This was his mouth! NOW DIE DAMN IT! "Get me outta here! I think it's trying to digest me with tentacles!"

"We're doing all we can," Otogi answered as he continued to pry at the panels, Jonouchi looking back with grit teeth.

"Gh- Do I need t' come back there?" he asked, a few of the others shaking their heads.

"We'll handle it," Yugi responded, Anzu moving past him to help at vicing the dog's head open despite the snarling and occasional tentacle like feeler swatting at them.

"GRRRRRRNNN! RRRRNNNNN!"

Like hell he was letting this thing out of his mouth! "Gh- Damn it!" Ren cried, numerous feelers coiling around the serpent's body as he was pulled forward. The snake slithered into the dog's head with nowhere else to go, the others losing their hand holds as the sphere sealed completely. "CRAP!" the serpent shouted, his captor tilting his head for a moment as the snake began attempting to escape, "I'm stuck!"

The others in the trailer traded odd looks, before nervously looking back to the dog with wide eyes. "A-Ah... Well... What do you see in there?" Anzu asked, Honda merely scratching and clawing at his head as the snake tumbled around.

Damn it, stop struggling... "Lots of wires and teeth trying to kill me!" the snake shouted bluntly, "What else! Hey, hang on, this looks like it could be a way out..." What looks like-

AHH! Au _gggh_! A nauseating feeling tore through his body, the dog sitting up again and shaking his head as it snarled. "GRRRRNNNN! RRNRRRRRR!" Get out of his throat damn it! He was supposed to be impaled by sharp wires and teeth, not climbing around his insides! "GAORRRR... RA _ORRRR_!"

He couldn't let him out, but damn it, if this kept up-! "Holy shit, thing is robotic!" the snake called out with a jolt, the others blinking confusedly. "Even the flesh, it's all fake! And hey, what's this thing d-"

"GHRAAA _AAAAAAGGGHH_! STOP SCREWING WITH MY THROAT!" Honda snarled, mouth flying open as Ren was unceremoniously spat out and thrown to the ground by the feelers. The crowd jumped back as the dog continued to snarl, feelers thrashing angrily as it pawed over as far as the leash could go. "Malik... I'm going to shred you... Piece by piece... Until NOTHING is left! GRAA _AAAAGGGH_ -!"

The snake instantly froze in place as the dog spoke, the car skidding to a halt as Jonouchi turned. The dog was thrown back against the truck wall by the force and cut short mid snarl, mouth 'flapping' somewhat as it shook himself for the others to stare.

"That... What did he say?" the blond repeated slowly, moving into the trailer with wide eyes.

"Hahhh... Ahhhhh GAOO _OORRR! RAOURR! ROUF! ROUF ROUF ROU_! Get over here! Get back here!" the dog snarled, pulling at his leash as Ren hurriedly retreated with wide and terrified eyes, "He'll kill you all damn it, just listen to me! It can't be trusted! I don't care if you have no clue what I'm saying, but please, just listen!"

"Oh my god... H-Honda-han," Shizuka whispered, the dog turning as the flags of its 'head' pulled in slightly. Hang on, he thought with a 'frown', panels pulling in further as he stared in silence. They... They heard...

"You guys... Understand me now..?"

The group merely stared, Jonouchi slowly moving from the front as the dog stared toward them. "You... You were righ' here this entire-"

"Gh- That's not important," he barked, the wires and cables from his neck flailing with anger, the reason for his rage quickly brought back to mind as the others flinched. "What's important is the other one that's right in front of you!" Honda snarled, "How could you bring MALIK around with you and tie ME up? He's the guy trying to kill us all! What's the deal!"

"Well we didn't know it was you! I mean, you look like something from a zombie game," Otogi protested, Anzu cutting him off with a scowl.

"Malik?" she asked incredulously, holding the snake close as it stared with wide and clearly fear-filled eyes beneath the dog's accusations. "You think _Ren_ is the madman that's been attacking people with the Rod?" Gh...

"No, I know he is!" the dog snarled, teeth seeming to quiver from inside the panels as he growled. "The hieroglyphs, the gold... He's even got that 'eye' on his head," he continued, Ren seeming to duck under Anzu's sleeve with the words, "It's obvious!"

Anzu shook her head, quite obviously not pleased about the accusations as she stood before the dog. "Alright... Listen very closely... REN," she emphasized, holding the serpent close, "Is a fragment of my soul, created for this _game_ ; he's a familiar, Honda, not some maniac residing in my head!"

"Prove it!" Honda growled, still pulling at the leash tying him in place as he reared up on his legs, "I bet you don't even believe your own words!"

"As a matter of fact, I do; the hieroglyphs are the same as the tablet I saw with Yugi just two days ago," she growled, "And seeing how Yugi's puzzle is gold and has that same eye on it," the woman continued darkly, "I'm pretty sure that explains everything else..."

"And what about his eyes?"

The group blinked, staring at the dog a moment as Ren continued to hide. "His... Eyes?" Yugi repeated almost blankly, the dog continuing to growl in an unbridled rage.

"Last I checked snakes didn't have purple eyes!"

At this Anzu sighed, before Shizuka bit her lip and coughed. "Actually," she muttered, pulling a few strands of white hair behind her ear, "Quite a few cobras have blue eyes... All it would take is a pigment defect to result in purple ones, and given how pale Ren is compared to real cobras..."

"Real Egyptian cobras," Honda muttered under his breath, before getting rapped over the head by Otogi's foot as he was pushed against the ground. "OW!"

"Hey! Cut it out," he growled, crossing his arms as he took his seat again. "We've been looking everywhere for you and this guy's been helping the entire time!"

"Tha's righ'," Jonouchi called from the front, also glaring. "An' b'sides tha', I didn' see y' tryin' too hard t' tell us who y' were when you were in my sister's arms, y' RAT."

"AH-" ...Well he supposed that was true but... "Gh... What was I going to do, use morse code?" he protested angrily, clawing at the air against the leash. "Oh and nice way to treat the guy who just died by the way! Really, I'm so glad this is what happens when you reincarnate!"

The others fell silent at this, Honda quickly backing up into the trailer's corner as he realized the line he'd crossed. Ah...

This... "...Well... It's better than getting depressed over things right?" Shizuka said, holding her spear from the 'Ruin' transformation close once again. "I mean... A lot has been happening," she continued, the truck starting up again as Jonouchi quietly decided to focus on his driving instead, "And if we don't keep our spirits up..."

The sound of the engine almost instantly died down again as they turned the corner, the others looking up with frowns. "We're stopping already?" Yugi asked curiously, narrowing his eyes. "But why are we-"

Jonouchi merely pointed forward with a stiff expression in place, ruined buildings and concrete dust filling the air before them as a figure in red charged into the skies far in the distance. "S... It's Kaiba," he said tonelessly, pulling the 'keys' from the device with a swallow as the others crowded around the front. "S... ...He's fightin' Daimon."

At that time, it didn't occur to anyone that 'Daimon' hadn't been addressed by name just yet.

* * *

"Hnhnhnhnhn..."

Her opponent was chuckling. Again.

Seto growled as she pulled herself up from the soaked ruins yet again, having been blasted back by a series of spells in her latest assault attempt. "It looks as though things are in my favor," Daimon was calling from his position, the woman merely spitting another mouthful of water to the side as she scowled and glared upward. She'd just gotten used to being dry damn it...

"What the hell are you talking about?" she growled, opponent standing just meters away from her and in the air to keep barely out of reach. Levitation. Such a cheap trick...

How come she couldn't levitate damn it...

Her opponent continued to laugh, rising higher into the air before coming to rest on a far off ledge. "I'm talking about 'life', Seto," the man cackled, his opponent narrowing her eyes at the switch from 'ojou' to 'seto' in annoying ways to address her. "I have three times as much power as you right now... And by sacrificing 2000 to re-activate Lily's effect, I'm going to continue with that!" he roared. "SO! How do you like the sound of a flu shot?" he snarled, the woman ducking as Lily's 'TSUNAMI' blasted through the area yet again to send her from the top of the building roof.

"G- NGH..!" Thank god for the defense mode she told herself, soaked cape dragging her back into the rushing waters before she clipped it off and let it sink. Thank god... The woman brought her sword back up, eyes narrowed as she looked up to her opponent from the water's surface. "Tch... The Twin-Headed Behemoth's ability activates!" she shouted, pushing off a building's flooded roof as her monster re-appeared in a cloud of water to flap its wings in mid air, "Allowing it to come back with cut power and defense!"

As the two headed dragon snarled the woman pulled herself onto its back, turning forward with narrowed eyes as the next part of her plan came into mind. Now then. When the time was right she'd make her move...

"Hnnn... A resurrecting monster," Daimon was muttering, arms crossed from his position in the air. "Well, I'll just have to kill it again then," he sneered, the woman below gritting her teeth as her dragon pulled up from the seas. "I set another card, before activating the spell 'Emergency Provisions'; I gain 1000 lifepoints," he explained, the glass of the card scattering around him, "But more importantly, as it's the end of my turn, my satellite gains power as it charges! Not that you can see it of course," the monster added with a smug laugh, Seto merely tapping the back of her own monster as they rose through the air. The satellite mattered little right now.

What mattered now was this! "I don't need to see your satellite to attack," Seto growled, preparing to jump from her dragon's first head as she held the second for support. "All I need to do is wipe out your 'heal' deck! HN! _HEAVY STORM_!" she roared, pushing off from the monster's head as her defensive wall of glass pushed ahead of her in response. Wind howled from the second sheet that sprang from her hand, wrapping around her and pushing her upward as she spoke. "This spell wipes out every last magic and trap card on your field!" Seto snarled, winds carrying her forward before a sudden wave cut them short. "And I- Gh- Hn!" Seto grabbed the side of a wall she'd flown past as she began to fall again, turning upward with narrowed eyes as the winds abruptly quieted. "You..!"

"I activated the spell 'Imperial Order'," the monster said plainly, clenching his fists as his opponent began to charge and run up the sides of the sky scraper again. "So long as I pay seven hundred lifepoints each turn, you'll be unable to use spells... Of course, now that it's my turn," he continued, snapping his fingers in the face of the approaching attack, "How about I show you this... The TRUE power of this weapon that Gozaburo left to this world! FIRE THE CANNON!" Daimon roared as his opponent leaped forward, the woman's eyes widening as the clouds above parted while she hung in mid air. She just jumped.

She couldn't move after she jumped.

Oh FUCK-

"H _NAHG-_ " Glass shattered above her as her defense monster was destroyed, the woman blasted back by the explosion that followed in mere seconds. Water evaporated from the ground, and as smoke rose from the ground a crater could be seen. Buildings toppled downward in the resulting collapse... Entire sky scrapers piled atop each other like dominos, and as Daimon cackled voices could be heard over the air.

"G... Ghg..."

_'KAIBAAA! KAIIIIBAAAA,_ ' a crowd was shouting, Seto's eyes closed tightly as she winced. Those voices...

_'SE-_ _...KAIBA!'_ a familiar loudmouth called out, correcting himself, ' _KICK HIS ASS!_ ' That voice..!

_'KAIBA! GET UP, KAIBA_!' That...

Voice...

Weak hands pulled herself from the wreckage and the crater both, the woman glancing to the side as she spotted a cliff above the lower buildings. "Y ... Yugi?" she rasped, ashes and grime coating her face and hair as she stumbled to her feet. Those guys...

What the hell were they doing here?

"Kaiba!" the boy shouted again, mutterings of 'fairness' and 'difficulty' filling the air behind him as his friends discussed her opponent. "This fight..."

The remainder of the sentence was left unsaid, Seto narrowing her eyes as she snorted. Hn! Really... If he wanted to help, he should have stayed away.

"Don't bother," the woman growled, covering up her voice with a slight grunt of pain. "This is my fight; interfere and I'll consider you as much an opponent as he is," she continued, the others on the cliff tensing slightly. Seto looked back to her opponent in question, gritting her teeth as she looked toward where he hovered. Alright...

This was it.

"...Daimon," she growled, pulling herself from the crater. "Prepare yourself! Twin Headed Behemoth enters attack mode!" Seto announced, running forward and up the still crumbling walls as they slowly succumbed to their own weight and fatigue, "And in addition," she continued as the tower behind her crumbled, "I summon the Spirit Ryu!" In a blinding light water rose to her side, the dragon swirling about her before a mask developed for it to fly forward. Good... The monsters were set. "And with that... I attack!" she shouted, pushing off the falling building with a roar, "Activating Ryu's effect! By discarding two dragons," Seto announced, "He gains 2000 attack points!"

"Not nearly enough to save your sorry hide," Daimon sneered, pointing his angel forward as the nurse saluted. "Lily's effect is also activated; I give up 2000 of my lifepoints to increase her power by three thousand," he stated coldly, the angel raising her syringe like some great wand, a wave of water blasting forward. "Now... COUNTER ATTACK!"

Water filled the air, crushing her and sending her flying backward beneath the stinging acid waves. And in the resulting crossfire, the scene again changed...

With Seto finding herself standing before the form she held just under two years prior.

* * *

"And so it all begins again... It looks like your friends arrived just in time," Noa was saying from the front of the screen, Mokuba merely biting his lip as he looked at the boy. "Now _dear_ Seto has an audience for her death..." Gh...

No! "Nee-sama isn't going to lose," he said confidently, clenching his fists as the two programs sat motionlessly at his sides. "She's coming here right now, got that?"

"I don't know... She seems rather distracted to me," the boy chuckled darkly, Mokuba shivering as he moved over to brush a bit of hair from his eyes. "Just why do you love this woman so much... She can't even get over a simple secret; do you have any idea how large a problem this will be now? Why... She could have easily passed it off as something my father forced her into had she come outright after his death... But now..." Forced to-

Gh- This sick... "Nee-sama wouldn't lie about that," he spat, narrowing his eyes. "Why she's still hiding is between her and me, it's none of your business!"

Noa tilted his head, smiling oddly. "Ohhhh but it is Mokuba... I care very much about you after all, and this, all of this... I know it's hurting you," he whispered, his captive unable to move away from his touch. "And your friend, Katsuya... He knows too, but what's he doing about it? Just fawning over your big sister from a distance, not even bothering to say anything..." Gnnnh...

"That's enough, go away!" he shouted, gritting his teeth. "I know what you're doing... And it's not going to work! You can't turn me against my friends and family... You can't just get into my head like that!"

The boy stared blankly, crossing his arms. "Hnn... Really Mokuba, I'm appalled. I'm not attempting any control at all, merely stating the facts; your 'sister' doesn't really care... Not within safe boundaries at least. And you love her, don't you?" he pressed, leaning in to look at the boy. "Well if you love her, then give her a break. The real world is just one giant strain, she can't take that much longer..."

"Get. Away."

"Hahhhh... I guess it's only natural you don't understand... You can't remember the other things she did after all, the darker days..." Darker...

Mokuba frowned, bowing his head somewhat. "You... What are you talking about?" he muttered, flinching away as Noa continued to move close in what was shaping to be an attempt at 'comfort'. "Just get away from me already!"

Another sigh, Noa moving away to cross his arms. "Hnnn... I suppose I'll just have to show you; Daimon saw through her long ago after all," he said with a smirk, "Perhaps not long enough, but he still knows what happened that day... Your sister used you," the boy whispered, Mokuba gritting his teeth, "She used you and tossed you to the side..." Gh...

That... "LIAR!" he shouted, covering his ears with a shout. "You're lying! My sister never used me for anything..! There was nothing like that!"

"Oh..? Did you forget then?" Noa asked, feigning a look of confusion. "It can't have been that long ago after all... In fact, just what day was it, Kisara-chan..?"

"November 10th, 2010. 3:45 PM."

"And where?" the boy continued to press, Mokuba growing visibly pale as a memory came to mind.

"Library study, west wing, 12 A Domino District."

"And as I recall... Who was involved again?"

"Former employees Daimon Kogoro, Ota Soichiro, Oka Chikuzen, Shuzo Otaki, Konosuke Oshita... In addition, Kaiba Seto, and Kaiba Mokuba." No...

Not...

Noa seemed to smile darkly, looking back from Kisara with a smirk. "That will be all, Kisara-chan... So tell me Mokuba," he continued, gesturing to the screen as the boy slowly turned to look. "Do you remember?"

"N... No," he whispered, the scene of a ruined city slowly replaced with the very memory that was coming to mind just now. "No... You're lying," the boy said with a swallow, "Lying... She wouldn't do that!" he screamed, turning away. "She wouldn't..! You're LYING!"

"You keep saying that... Yet in the end," Noa said quietly, "You can't fool a computer..."

* * *

_'Why have you called us here?_ ' the men in Seto's memory asked, forms obscured by a fog that arose thanks to the merged attack of Angel Lily's 'tsunami' and the Behemoth's flames. ' _As I recall_ ,' they continued, ' _You were given free reign over the rest of your life; what reasons do you have calling_ _us now?_ '

It was as though the entire fight had come to a standstill with the arrival of that memory; as Seto stood and stared in slight shock the monsters had continued to fight, her twin-headed behemoth and dragon both belching flames at the attacking angel before them as their master stared in a minute moment of weakness. 'Spirit Ryu' as he was called had died quickly, thankfully leaving little damage to its master in the rushing water. As it died however Lily's effect wore off, leaving it open for attack from the Behemoth...

And in seconds the flames burned it into naught but ash, floating on the waves. But now it was Daimon's turn. And it seemed that despite having the advantage, he was more than happy to wait things out, allowing his points to replenish through his cards and destroying the 'Imperial Order' to preserve himself while simultaneously watching his opponent's growing dread.

With all that it was still his turn...

And Seto seemed far too shocked or frozen by what stood on the field to say otherwise.

"What... Is this?" Anzu muttered, stepping forward as the others looked over the 'field'. Before them the entire scene of the cityscape had vanished, replaced by some sort of vision of Seto's board room with the light of a mid-day sun bleeding through the window. "It... It looks almost like..."

"Kaiba's work building," Yugi muttered, the teen's eyes narrowed as he recognized the room from when Mokuba had taken them in. "But why are we seeing this?"

"Why are they showing _Kaiba_ this?" Otogi added, Shizuka coming forward with Honda again in her arms to frown. "If it's his memory he'll remember this clearly right?"

"Hnn..." The others turned as Ren pulled their attention over, the serpent shaking his head somewhat. "It's probably not something he wants to remember," the snake on Anzu's arm muttered, staring almost blankly. "It's a good way to manipulate someone, that's for sure... If the memory is dark enough..."

The dog in Shizuka's arms squirmed somewhat, apparently forgoing his current detest for the snake to focus on the scene below. "...But this is Kaiba," Honda protested, keeping his voice down lest his 'mouth' open again as Ren stared. "Kaiba's not exactly manipulable..."

"True," the blond at the front said with a swallow, "But somethin' tells me tha's th' point..."

As the others frowned in response to this statement, Seto's opponent again began to speak. "Do you remember this day?" Daimon was shouting from below, still hovering out of reach as he seemingly faded from sight. "This meeting... It was the start of Gozaburo's end," he sneered, ashen and burnt clothing hanging from the armor of the Psycho Shocker. "The start of something that will show everyone here your true colors! This plan you made not too long ago... Hn!"

Plan? ' _You have ability,_ ' the younger Seto was saying coldly, manipulatively and controlled to the point of near temptation in the eyes of the 'big five'. _'You have power... You could be kings in your own fields if you wanted,_ ' the girl had told them, ' _Yet you work for Gozaburo instead..._ ' The board had traded glances with these words, coughing awkwardly as their guest continued. ' _Why not work for me?_ ' she'd asked, the woman's living counterpart visibly gritting her teeth at the sight of an unwanted scene. Those men had agreed that day, that much he knew. And as the memory shifted to that of another room, it seemed as though Seto's opponent was speaking to them...

And only to them, rather than to his opponent.

"That day," he began, chuckling darkly from where he stood upon the flag-pole of a tall skyscraper in the half visible city-scape, "That was when the plan began; we began to amass stocks within the company," Daimon explained clearly, "Slowly gathering among us more and more of the company's percent count. However, as we came to a full forty-nine percent," he continued, "It seemed someone leaked information to your late 'father'. Leaked to him that you were planning a take over, preparing to oust the man from power. And rumor had it," the man continued with a sneer, the area appearing almost closed and cramped as they were suddenly met with the sounds of a small boy crying, "That 'mole', according to 'rumor'... Was none other than your brother."

"You..."

"Mokuba?" Anzu hissed with a frown, "But why would Mokuba-"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ren answered darkly, the others listening with cold expressions that nearly matched that of the woman below. "He was set up."

_'GHN!_ ' A louder shout came through the air, and before them the scene re-played. ' _N-... Nii-sama,_ ' the boy was wailing, wiping his cheek as he was thrown roughly against the door. The look on his sister's face was that of cruel rage, not an ounce of remorse in her eyes as she proceeded with her next words and actions, arms crossed in clear distaste. ' _N... Nii-sama_ ,' Mokuba continued to cry, the present counter part of Seto bowing her head in silence as her eyes were hidden from view. ' _Why... Why are you doing this?_ ' he cried, wiping his eyes. ' _Why?_ '

The girl had merely snorted, lips curled back in disgust. ' _Tch! When will you stop getting in my way?_ ' she snarled, using the voice that she had just recently been taught to use as the Big Five awkwardly watched from behind the woman. ' _You knew this was important... And yet all you can do is screw things up!_ ' she snarled, her brother cringing under the shouts. ' _Pathetic!_ '

_'P-Please... Nii-sama..._ ' The ten year old boy continued to sniff, wiping his face as he looked to his sister's eyes. _'I didn't tell him, I swear, I didn't!_ ' he cried, pulling his legs close before roughly being pulled up. _'I didn't tell... I didn't...'_

' _Tch- Get away from me,_ ' 'Seto' spat, pushing him roughly out of the room as the door was opened for him. The boy tripped and fell out into the hall turning just in time to hear his sister continue to shout. ' _And DON'T COME BACK! UNDERSTAND?_ '

_'N-Nii... Nii-sa_ -'

_'I SAID LEAVE_!' she roared, the door slamming in Mokuba's face. And with that sound, the scene dissipated into full darkness.

Seto was shaking. Her expression still couldn't be seen, the skull shaped 'hat' from her deck-master armor obscuring it perfectly as Daimon chuckled from above.

"Geeze... Was Kaiba... Really that bad?" Otogi whispered, Shizuka as well staring in shock as the others found themselves with distant gazes.

"...Worse," Yugi muttered after a moment, turning his attentions back to the field as Katsuya swallowed. "Far worse..."

"Wouldn' 've hesitated t' kill 'm back then," he added almost nervously, watching as the field seemed to roll with flames before coming to the final scene. The board room again Katsuya realized, watching as Seto stood to face her 'father' with the Big Five at her side. But this time, there was more than the big five and Seto in there.

There was nothing but silence in this scene. A silence that lasted only a moment before Daimon again continued with his taunting narrative, shaking his head in mock pity.

"Poor, poor Mokuba... Left with only Gozaburo to turn to," he explained darkly, "The man had exactly 51% of the company stock in his possession... There was no need to bother dealing with your 'attempts' to take control, no need to pressure us out of our own stocks... And yet you still called a meeting," he continued, the memory hiding him from view once more as his opponent was forced to watch the scene. "Beyond all clear signs that it would end in failure you moved on..."

Because that was how Seto did things.

_'Thank you for coming,'_ the 'little' Seto said calmly, already nearing the height she was now as she stood before her 'father'. ' _This is an incredibly important matter after all... We're dealing with the future of this company, hn?_ '

_'Hmph! You're just wasting your time_ ,' Gozaburo sneered from across the woman, arms crossed as he looked to the girl. ' _You know full well the difference in power; no matter how much you want to turn on me you only have 49% of this company... And I don't plan on lending you anything of mine to change that. As for how to put an end to this nonsense_ ,' the man continued with a snarl, holding out a small pile of papers, ' _I'll be applying for insolvency this next week; the business will become nothing but subsidiaries and your stocks nothing but wallpaper scraps. You can consider your life mortgaged to ME!_ ' he roared, no reaction coming from his 'son' as he slammed the papers to the table. ' _A debt you can carry with you until death!_ '

_'No!_ ' The door flung open at that moment, the group watching turning as a slightly familiar form of Mokuba's past self ran through with a desperate shout. ' _I won't let you! No!_ '

"That... He came back?" Ren hissed in confusion, the others narrowing their eyes. The cobra slithered up to his partner's head, shaking himself. "He... Why would he do that..."

' _Mokuba,_ ' Gozaburo muttered, narrowing his eyes as the board and Seto both turned to look back at the boy. ' _What are you doing here?_ ' he warned, ' _Your classes begin today!_ '

_'I'm giving my stock to my brother,_ ' he said almost nervously, holding out a small set of papers with a swallow as his 'father' paled. ' _You see? You no longer have 51%..! This company is my nii-sama's now, and not yours!_ '

Gozaburo appeared almost frozen with those words, standing from his seat with wide eyes. ' _You... But after what he did to you, he- How could you..._ '

' _That... That was an accident,_ ' Mokuba muttered, Otogi and Seto both visibly wincing as the memory continued to play with an excuse they both recognized for alternative reasons. ' _It was an accident... He got angry,_ ' the boy whispered, ' _And... And I...'_

_'Mokuba... Thank you_ ,' the 'memory' Seto said almost blandly, not looking down. ' _Now, you should go home... I'll be back soon enough_ ,' she promised, voice not at all showing any gratefulness.

Even so it was enough for her brother that day. ' _Ah... N... Nii-sama... '_ For a brief moment the boy merely looked at his sister in awe, before breaking into a grin. ' _Alright,'_ he said with a nod, turning from the room. ' _Got that, 'Gozaburo'? I side with my brother!_ ' he told him with a grin, ' _And no one else_!'

"And you were counting on that weren't you?" Daimon hissed as the door shut behind the boy, 'Seto' turning back to her 'father' with a cunning smirk before the scene melted into dust. "All according to plan, with one handy bonus including Gozaburo's untimely suicide just after and a will granting you all of his remaining stocks... Now wasn't that a surprise?" the man continued darkly, his opponent slowly raising her head to leer at the monster before her.

"You... What are you going on about?" Seto hissed, still shaking as the memory cleared to reveal the ruined field in a slowly blowing wind. "All of this..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... You told me yourself didn't you?" the man shouted with a laugh, hands outstretched as he took his move. "YOU passed on that information, YOU were the one who took advantage of a small boy's trust, sending him to your opponent's arms until at the last minute his childish guilt came to your rescue... You counted on that very result!" he snarled, a storm appearing to rage with every word he shouted, "Because you knew that boy thought the world of you!"

"GH... I... I..."

Seto couldn't argue against this he realized, a sympathetic look coming over his face in response. She couldn't counter this...

Because she knew it had happened.

She was muttering something now he noted, head again bowed in fatigue and grief both as the others stared in shocked and awkward silence. "For him," they could finally hear, the woman not moving in the cold gale. "Everything I did... It was all.."

"Say what you like," Daimon countered, crossing his arms from his position on a building's radio tower, "But in the end you can't change the truth! You hurt your brother, sent the man who took you in into hell... And when you were sure it was all yours you became the very tyrant you promised not to become... You were WORSE than Gozaburo!" he roared accusingly, pointing downward as he scowled. "And for what you did I'll be making sure you can never wake up again! It's still my turn," he announced, a sheet of glass appearing before him with the wave of a hand, "And I'm setting a card... And following that!" the monster shouted a blinding light coming from above, "The satellite attacks again!" The satellite-

"GH-GH _AA_!"

And with that a blinding light tore directly through the clouds and field, sending dust into the air once more as buildings began to fall...

Blocking whatever else happened from view for what felt like all too long to those watching at the sides.

* * *

"GHHHAA _AAAGH_!"

The building she was slammed back into was struck with far more force than the other attacks had been. The woman had found herself pummelled through wall after all of concrete; had she been alive, she most certainly would not have been after the first.

Her 'Behemoth' had been disintegrated on impact of course, bearing the exact number of attack points as the satellite had. Her body however, despite being protected by the monster, was left to plummet into a crater-like hole in the wall of a 'final' sky-scraper, the collapsing ones before her leaving little in the area to stand for something to run along.

"Gnk... Nnnh..." That memory...

She remembered that day all too clearly she told herself, sword again making its use as a support for her to pull herself upward. That horrible, horrible day... Her brother's face... The lack of any remorse she'd felt, of any concern. But it wasn't that day she was recalling. She might have hurt and used him then but there had been worse.

Far worse, and a few of those on the side knew it. There were no other real words for her 'past self'. She...

She was a monster. And as much as she loathed to say so Daimon was right; she had no excuse, none whatsoever, for what she had done.

But that was exactly why she had to keep fighting she reminded herself, looking up at the sky with an almost possessed stare. That was why she had to keep moving. To attempt to make up for it all.

To save him, to show him that dream they'd made in the sandbox as small children. That was why...

"Life," she found herself saying almost plainly as her disguised voice rasped out of existence, "Is a game..." No one could hear her right now, from the bottom of that canyon. No one but Daimon. That was all she needed to know. That was the only one who needed to hear. "...All a game," she repeated, narrowing her eyes as she looked upward. "And I don't intend to lose... Do you hear me?" she continued with a roar, voice again covered up as she ran forward and up the tilted side of a crumbling ruin wall to target the man. "I'm not losing this battle! I activate Pot of Greed!" she shouted, leaping from the building she stood on as it collapsed from the broken structures the satellite canon left on it, "Drawing two more cards before I summon the Possessed Blood Soul! Now," she ordered, pointing her blade forward from one of the few standing buildings as she came to run along the ridges of a balanced one. "ATTACK!"

"Hn! Not so fast... Dreamsprite is flip summoned," Daimon shouted, snapping his fingers as the wall of glass shattered in Seto's approaching view. "And using its effect," he continued with a shout, "The attack is redirected to the satellite!" But if the satellite couldn't be attacked...

Seto grimaced as she came to the roof of one of the buildings, looking up toward the monolith across from her. The attack was useless. And that meant...

"Now..! It's my turn!" Shit! "The Satellite canon increases in power," he explained clearly, his opponent left with no option but to back away and jump as far from the tower across from her as possible. "And now... For MY attack," the monster roared, clouds already clearing above as the woman's demon fled. "THE SATELLITE CANON STRIKES!" Daimon announced, Seto's eyes filling with light as she kicked off the building with an unblinking stare. "NOW..!"

- _BROOUUUUMMMMMM_

The tilted towers and skyscrapers were easily scattered into chunks of flying concrete as she slowly turned back, body hanging in mid air as one particular cluster of stone fell toward her. Buildings were falling... All about her time seemed to almost freeze, her body growing limp as the tower at the front crumbled forward almost fully intact. She couldn't...

She couldn't lose. She couldn't die, not now she told herself as she stared from her position in mid air. Not now, not...

"Gh... AERO!" she roared, throwing her hands forward at the last minute as the stone came toward her face.

In that moment the building broke apart in her face and landed, rubble pinning her legs to the ground as her monster narrowly avoided being crushed under the pile that clattered over them. Buildings toppled into the center of the crater, gravity taking its toll. In the pitch black darkness the flaming monster she'd summoned now sat at the side, staring. Her monster hadn't been the target she told herself with a wince, closing her eyes as dust fell from the rubble below to hover in the air. She still had life points, so it hadn't been the target.

But she was trapped.

Trapped, pinned under the ground like a corpse in its grave. And in no better condition either, she added grimly. Mokuba...

She couldn't save him like this, not like this she told herself, left arm resting on the stone as it crushed her chest. ...Mokuba...

"Will it really end like this?" she whispered bitterly, staring at the sky as black spots entered her vision. "My dream... Lost to a weapon of death?" These ghosts of Gozaburo...

Would they ever disappear she asked herself, unable to move beneath the rocks atop her as her demon sat at the side. Was this the end?

Was this really it..?

. . .

No.

The woman's monster appeared to stare, flaming appearance looming over her as she steeled herself, narrowing her eyes. No...

NO! Her menu flashed in the back of her mind, Seto gritting her teeth as her free hand clenched. The flames that sat within this deck...

She was going to awaken them now and burn the monster opposing her into a small pile of burning ash. There was one draw left after all, and one card that would help her. And she would summon it! No matter what. This card she'd just drawn...

"This... ...Gn... ...Sacrifice two monsters!" she muttered under ragged breath, the fiery demon at the side melting over her form as a blinding white light began to pulse from her body, "Awaken the ruler of my deck the queen of dragons..." This was it. It was now or never... "I summon BLUE-EYES!" she roared with a burst of strength, white flames blasting through the wreckage as she shot forward and into the air through the resulting pillar of light. "HAAA-AH!"

No one could miss the white colored warrior standing in mid air, not while it gleamed so brightly in the dark sky. "B-Blue-Eyes?!" her opponent whispered, form illuminated by the light that she now radiated. "Impossible... Im..."

Daimon shuddered below, Seto merely looking down with a menacing glare as she gripped the sword that appeared in her left hand. "You... I made a promise," she hissed, white wings spread wide behind her as her just as white hair shimmered in the light created. "A 'bet' to become the 'top' duelist once again, with honor and power both... If you think I'll let scum like you destroy it!" she snarled, light seemingly pulsing with rage, "You can think again! Now DIE, DAIMON!" she roared, propelling herself higher into the air as a blast of white fire grew within her mouth. "BURST STREAM!"

"No... No, 'shield'!" the monster shouted, holding his hands forward as the glass created shattered on impact. 'SH-SHIELD-' n- GH- GHA _AAAAAHHHH! HAAAAAAAAAAHHHH_!" White fires filled her vision as she landed on the building Daimon fell to, the man covered in flames despite the protections he'd attempted to put up. "GHAAA _AAHH! AAAAAAAGGHHH_!" This man...

A strong kick sent the man flying against the wall of the building, the sword she somehow still carried brought to Daimon's throat as she placed a foot firmly atop the monster's chest. "Now Daimon," she hissed, narrowing her eyes in rage, "I will ask you only once... Where... Is... My. BROTHER."

"Hn... Your brother?" the man spat, a small bit of blood spurting from his mask as Seto crushed the monster's ribs in response. "GH-! GH... Hah... Hah... Find out for yourself!" he sneered, a single dead eye looking up through one of his shattered lenses as the woman grit her teeth, "I certainly don't know... Believe me," he continued, breaking into a pile of dust, "This isn't over... Ojou-san..." Gh...

No... No... "Daimon... You..! Gh... WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM!" she roared, her white armor and wings vanishing as they were replaced with her red garb once more, light fading from the air to leave her in darkness once more. "WHERE DID YOU TAKE MOKUBA?"

There was no answer to the woman's fortunately disguised shouts. Not even from the ones watching, those who were now struggling to traverse the ruined buildings around them. Seto bowed her head in the silence that resulted, shaking somewhat before turning as shouts came from the side.

"Se- KAIBA!" Jonouchi was shouting, hands cupped from where he and his friends stood on the cliff side. "KAIBA!"

This was as close as they got, she told herself. Briefly she held a look with the group, before looking to the opposite side as a tunnel of sorts appeared. _'I have him_ ,' a voice seemed to whisper, the woman closing her eyes as an involuntary shudder passed through her. _'I have your precious brother... And there's nothing you can do about it..._ ' That...

That bastard... She had to find-

"KAIBAAAA!" Seto turned, narrowing her eyes as the others ran down the side of the cliff to come over. "KAIBA! Let us come with y'!" Jonouchi shouted, eyes filled with worry as the others nodded in agreement and continued to come near. "We need t' get Mokuba... So let us come wi-"

"Stay out of this," she responded flatly, the group freezing in their approach as the woman glared. "This is a family matter... It's none of your concern, understand?" she added, switching the grip on her sword to her right hand.

The others stared for a brief moment, the answer coming all too quickly and all too 'as expected' for her liking. "Fam'ly... Tch!" The blond scowled, narrowing his eyes. "In case y' didn' realize," the blond growled, jabbing a thumb at himself in gesture, "I see 'm as family too! So 'your business' ain't gonna cut it!"

The woman merely narrowed her eyes, ignoring an odd stare that one among the number was giving her as she growled. "My brother may see you as 'family'," she muttered, "But as I recall you have your own crowd to deal with," she continued, Shizuka frowning as the woman glanced over her. "This is MY problem," Seto pressed, turning to face the tunnel as she gripped her sword. "And if I catch you following behind me," she continued, hopping from the roof to the tunnel's edge to begin her trek, "I'll show you just what I think of obstacles and distractions!"

"Ob- Gh... Be tha' way!" she heard the blond shout from behind her, walking off into the dark tunnel without another word. "IDIOT! SEE IF I CARE THAT Y' GET YERSELF KILLED!" he continued angrily, the shouts fading. "GOT THAT! I DON' CARE AT ALL!"

Despite the message most would receive from those words, and the situation they were in, Seto found herself smiling somewhat at the pathetic attempts for the blond to hide his idiotic attachments. Hn...

Well. At least there was someone that wouldn't cheer over her death after all of this...

* * *

"H-HAH! YEA! Kick their ass nee-sama!"

Mokuba grinned as he stared at the screen before them, his sister's 'blue-eyes' influenced form remaining for just a second more before vanishing. The duel was over, and Seto was moving on. But it was strange...

So strange! Noa stared, narrowing his eyes at the boy's cheer as his guest continued to shout. This woman... He'd just convinced the boy of all her wrong doings, and yet with that one victory it was as though he'd been completely broken of the 'spell' of despair he had over him!

"Mokuba... How can you not hate this woman?" he whispered, the boy turning back to frown. "After all she did, how can you not..."

Mokuba merely smiled sadly, shaking his head at what he considered an obvious question. "Nee-sama will always be my sister," he said plainly, the screen blacking out at the side before it faded from sight completely. "No matter how much I suffer, no matter what happens," he continued calmly. "That will never change; I'll always stand by her side... You know that much, don't you?" Mokuba asked, narrowing his eyes in more than evident anger. Hn...

Such loyalty he had...

He could remember his own life at that age, when he was alive. The wealth, the intelligence, the power... He had never been in want of anything, nor had he ever envied anyone. He had everything Seto had now, everything but one thing...

And he'd almost gotten it...

_'Noa,'_ he remembered his father saying all those years ago, the boy's expression carefully hidden despite the tinge of pain it brought. ' _How would you like a little brother?'_ He wanted this...

He wanted this loyalty, this friendship, this thing that he did not have! He wanted a brother! A real one, not a figment of his computerized exploits, not a program that acted only out of what was coded and duplicated... He had to...

He HAD to..!

"You're such a considerate person," Noa whispered honestly, the boy beside him staring in slight and uneasy confusion. "So kind and forgiving..."

"...It's my sister," Mokuba responded, not looking back at the boy as he held his arms close. "Why would I say anything else about her?"

"True, you're supposed to love older sisters... But she doesn't claim that title," he protested, voice kept low as he began his attempts at weaving himself into the boy's mind. "She claims to be your 'brother', at least to the public eye... What kind of sibling hides like she does?" he whispered, the boy beside her shifting back with narrowed eyes, "Cowering behind a mask of indifference... Sisters don't force these kinds of secrets on their siblings, not for this long. Just what thoughts do you have on this woman," Noa asked, "That make her so 'worthy' of them?"

The boy bit his lip, glancing back before giving his answer. "Nee-sama... Nee-sama is strong," he said confidently, swallowing a wave of unease. "Much stronger than you think, Noa. She'd do anything for me, anything! Because we're siblings! Because we're family!" Was that so...

Then he had just the thing, to get this thing that he wanted. "Really now? And yet what about what we saw just now? What about that day after the lessons?" he pressed, the event being 'forced' into the boy's mind, "Or every day following that? She never looked to you as her 'brother'," Noa pressed, Mokuba cringing under the words, "Never respected you, nor came to your aid... She even tried to kill you," the boy whispered, sending a flash of the very event where this happened through the boy's mind. "Sisters... They don't do that," he told him, a gleam seeming to come into his eyes as he leaned closer. "How do you even know that what she says of you now is true," Noa continued, finally moving back as the boy turned to stare nervously. "Why," he added, moving from the couch with a shrug, "There's no guarantee at all that it's not just a 'mask'! I could even say the same for your friend, 'Katsuya'... Lusting after your older sister with a nearly guaranteed match as the 'one who knows'... How do you know he really cares about you though..?"

"That... That's enough!” Mokuba shouted, eyes quivering with confusion and doubt both as he gripped the cushions of the couch. "Just stop it... Stop it, alright! These words... None of them are true!" he tried to convince himself, "None of them!"

"Is that really what you think?" he asked, turning to the side as a door appeared from nowhere. Footsteps echoed through the air, Mokuba looking to the side before staring with wide eyes as the one who walked through. "Hn... There she is now," the boy stated almost blandly. "Let's see who's right..."

The boy briefly looked to Noa with narrowed eyes, before running forward with a look of relief over his face upon determining nothing was wrong. "Hah... N-Nee-sama!" the boy shouted, looking to the woman with a grin as he ran forward. "Nee-sama, you came for me! Hey... Since you won," he continued, hardly able to contain his excitement, "That means we're going home right? Ri-"

"I'll be going home," 'Seto' said plainly, crossing her arms as she turned to look away. "You'll be staying here."

"I-" He froze, footsteps halting briefly as the words echoed coldly through his mind. "W... What..."

The woman glanced back, narrowing her eyes as she 'explained'. "You heard what I said; you'll be staying here. You almost got us killed," Seto was telling him, eyes shining with rage, "And if you'd stayed behind the cover, you wouldn't have been taken. If you'd just listened," she snarled, "We wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Li-Lis... But how is any of this my fault?" he whispered with an incredulous laugh, before jogging forward to reach out. "Nee-sama," he called out almost desperately, "I-"

_-SMACK_

Mokuba stood as the sound reverberated about the room, shocked still as he slowly brought a hand to his cheek. She... She'd hit him, he realized coldly, face falling even further. She'd actually...

After all that happened...

"You... N-Nee-sama... What..." 'Katsuya' was standing in the door he realized. The blond was turned away in what almost looked to be annoyance, and as Seto continued to leer at the boy from above, Mokuba swallowed. He... He wouldn't do this right? He wasn't...

He'd never been like this, so with his help, maybe... "K-Katsuya-nii... Katsuya-nii!" he called out, eyes wide, "What's going on? Why is Nee-sama-"

"Shut up," the blond said bluntly, turning just slightly as blood drained from the boy's face. "Jus'... Shut up, alrigh'," he growled testily, Mokuba staring in confusion. The look on Katsuya's face...

It was almost worse than the one on Seto's, his own eyes also narrowed in a look of anger.

"Tch... I honestly 'xpected a lo' more from y'," he spat, shaking his head. "Even I ain't stupid 'nough t' run int' a trap like that!" This... Why was this...

"But..." Why was any of this... "I didn't mean for..." The boy shook, receiving nothing but glares in response as his sister snorted.

"Hn! Of course you didn't... You never do," she sneered, turning away. "You ruined everything... As it is, we're lucky to be leaving with only one casualty. We're better off leaving you here," the woman continued with that in mind. "Now... Let's go, 'Katsuya'," she said calmly, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder as they turned to leave. First names...

He'd waited so long to hear his sister use first names again, but now that he heard it...

The woman continued to pass through the door with the blond at her side, brother's eyes watering with tears. "We won't be worrying about him any more..." Wh...

What... What did that...

The door closed off, Mokuba staring in shock as he was left in total darkness. It couldn't have been real, he was telling himself, shaking his head. It couldn't... None of it could possibly be real, it had to have been an illusion like so many other things, and yet there it was...

It happened... Right in front of him... Right...

In front...

The boy fell to his knees, wide eyes staring at the ground as tears developed and fell to the ground.

"...Why," he whispered, shaking as he held himself close, small mutterings and thoughts in the back of his mind only confirming the event. "Why would they say those things? They never say those things," he wept, "So why..."

"Things like this... They bring out the worst in people," Noa sighed, coming up to the boy from behind. "Revealing the monsters of a person's true self... It's sad," the boy continued, Mokuba not pushing him away as the thoughts in his mind persisted. "But you know," Noa told him, "Sisters and even the ones we call 'friends' can be cruel... Seto wouldn't have said those things if she loved you, nor would your friends have agreed... You should forget about them," he added at a whisper Mokuba continuing to stare at the ground. "Just forget about things like that..." Why did it have it be real...

Why did it have to...

"But why?" the boy cried, shaking his head as he looked back to the one behind him. "It's not like them! It's not..."

"There there..." a hand was placed on his shoulder, the somewhat shorter boy seeming to lock eyes with him as he smiled. "Who needs them..? I can take both of their places," Noa told the boy, Mokuba shivering as his captor pulled him close in an awkward embrace before continuing. "I can be a far better brother than those two fools combined... I'll look after you, help you, care for you... No matter what," he added, looking directly into his 'brother's eyes as the somewhat taller boy sniffed and stared. "I'll always be there, right until the ends of the world itself... So what do you say..?"

_'Do it,_ ' a voice in his mind seemed to mutter, emotions curling into a spiral as he struggled to make sense of it all. _'Do it,_ ' it repeated, Mokuba continuing to stare in silence before finally nodding his head somewhat in response.

"Hn... I... ...I... ...Okay," he whispered, burying himself into the boy's arms as Noa's smirk went unnoticed to him. "Okay," he repeated, unaware of the manipulation already in process on his very mind.

And as those words echoed throughout the virtual world, Seto Kaiba found herself freezing in place in the middle of the tunnel she'd entered, the sound echoing through the air. "M... Mokuba," she whispered, looking upward with wide eyes as she heard that one word fade across the air. "I... ... ...Wait for me..."

Please... Just wait...


	13. Morton's Fork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains a scene in which a non-canon character commits suicide. Upon mention of the name 'Rota', please skip to the next segment of text if this subject matter is triggering in any way.

The night sky had only just begun to fade on the ruined city they stood in. Crumbled buildings littered the ground and towered above them like the ancient remains of a long forgotten land, and as what was left of the ocean's water dripped across the ground beneath the bridge the blond found himself staring out at where a tunnel had now just appeared. It was strange- and not just the tunnel either.

He felt almost like he knew this place, and yet despite that feeling it seemed so completely foreign that he couldn't wrap his head around any of this. That while the carvings were in his mind the buildings were not, and that the buildings themselves were older than even his memories. As it was the past few incidents were so completely confusing, battling each other in his mind for importance and relevance...

For one thing Ren was Malik. An ironic choice in names given that his mind kept trying to convince him the word meant 'name', but nonetheless, they were still one and the same. He was almost certain of that fact, and though Honda (who now that he thought about it, was having a much worse day than he) had been unable to find any proof that did not change his mind.

Ren was Malik, plain and simple.

He had the same eyes, and was travelling with Anzu, whom he had been possessing constantly throughout the evening... Something that looked to have backfired upon entry into the game. He could have said something. What kept him silent however, was the same problem Honda had; how did he prove to them that he knew? Prove to them that the snake that had as of yet done nothing wrong was in fact an enemy? Particularly with how... Civil the snake was acting at the moment.

He couldn't tell if it was a ruse or not at some points even; after all no one would fault the snake for not having fun right? No one would mind if the snake didn't show endless curiosity for whatever they were talking about, or if it didn't cheer and fight alongside them. Yet he was... Absolutely ecstatic outside of the horrifically gruesome sights they'd seen along the way.

Hell he was acting like a kid at some points of the journey thus far. And it was actually scaring him, to tell the truth. It was unnatural after all to think that the same one who had forced him into a death match with his friend would be the same 'thing' that was innocently chatting it up with everyone they traveled with. Not to say that the childish 'so, are we cool now' that Honda responded to with his teeth wasn't amusing of course...

And as it was, 'Ren' as he was called was quickly spat out and apologized to after the others glared at him, but seemed to show no other discomfort than slight rug burn from the wires. But the question was... Well, would Malik do that he wondered?

Really..?

It was like someone was actually screwing with their heads. More than he already suspected, more than what he'd thought possible. He sure as hell knew that this 'Noa' guy was messing with Seto's after all, given the look on the woman's face as she left. Given the memory that they'd seen, and the momentary slip in tone as she spoke with Daimon.

There was probably only one thing saving her there, and it was the fact that when she spoke with a low tone it sounded close enough to her disguised voice...

It wasn't nearly as easy to spot as her false one granted. But it still passed.

At the moment though no one was commenting on voices, nor were they commenting on anything else that had been possibly seen or heard, such as Daimon's faded and broken ' _O... ou..._ ' that he'd recognized as an 'ojou'. Instead, they were staring off at where the woman had vanished into darkness.

"...Yugi," the blond began after a moment, convincing himself of the same words he whispered, "Don' worry abou' S... 'Bou' Kaiba," he corrected, looking away from the tunnel as his friend stared past in agreement.

"What he said," Otogi added with a nod as he pointed off to the tunnel in gesture. "He should be fine if he made it this far on his own right?"

"Yeah... Not to mention," came a somewhat annoyed mutter as Anzu rolled her eyes at her partner. "I'd like to leave!" Yes, he probably would wouldn't he...

In fact Katsuya noted with a blank stare, the serpent was already making his way over to the truck at that moment. A slight growl came from the side in response to the statement, the others turning as Honda's bizarre and round head opened somewhat to complain.

"Before we deal with that," he protested, a few tendrils of wire gesturing to himself. "What about me? I want my body back! I mean... I feel worse than those weird-ass dogs in Blade!" The others stared, frowning as they mentally and unwillingly compared the gaping mouths their mind. Yeah...

This would be something to get rid of. "That's a good point," Shizuka muttered, adjusting her grip on the dog as she watched the head close up. "We need to fix this... It can't be comfortable can it?" she asked, the dog merely laying its head on her arms in response. Oooohhhh...

He had a feeling that Honda had a few more words than 'comfortable', not that he would say anything just yet... Wait until he thought he was safe. Then he would strike.

Yessss... "Ahhhh... Shizuka~" Katsuya tensed somewhat as the dog continued to make himself comfortable, hand twitching as he resisted the urge to kick him out of the girl's arms. "You're so considerate!" the puppy sighed, rubbing its head against the woman's robes as she stared somewhat blankly. "So much nicer than Otogi, and that snake-prick..." Uh...

This wasn't his territory any more.

"Y-erf!"

The dog was pulled up by the collar, Otogi in question giving him a pointed glare. "Word to the wise," he warned, before dropping the dog as it yelped in shock, "The 'snake' might not hear you, but I'm right here."

"Erf! Hey! Watch it!"

Otogi merely rolled his eyes, Shizuka holding her arms close as the dog took his seat. "So,” he said after a moment, looking to the others. "What now..?"

A short sigh cut off any thoughts of response, the others turning to the source as Yugi stared down the tunnel. "Hnnn..." The boy narrowed his eyes, wind blowing just slightly across the ruins and into the hole before him before he made his decision. "...I can't let him go alone," he eventually said, turning to the others to share a 'look' with Katsuya before pulling out his boomerang in case of attack. "I'm going after him."

"Ah- After sh- After he told us not t' come!" Katsuya questioned, the boy merely walking off already as his friend protested. "AH- Yugi! Hang on!"

"Yugi!" Anzu shouted, running after as Ren turned from his place far off toward the truck, "Wait for me," she continued as she stumbled on her robes with her staff in hand, "I'm coming as well! Just hold on!"

"W- You too Anzu?" The woman also didn't answer, merely vanishing into the darkness as the blond sighed. "Man... What's with that..."

"Hey! I'm still up here! She can't just leave me here! Our lives are tied together here!" came Ren's faint and distant shout. "That's no fair!"

Yes, well, as it turned out she just did so... There was nothing to do about it really.

The others stared down the tunnel for a moment after Anzu's form completely vanished, eventually looking away while the same cold breeze continued to blow. "Do... Do you think we should follow them?" Honda asked, looking up from the ground as the others turned to stare. "I mean... There's not much else where we can go," he added, shaking his head as his tail thumped the ground.

"Really? ...Wait. ...How do you know that?" Otogi muttered confusedly, before Katsuya's response cut him off.

"Ehh... They'll be fine on their own," he said honestly, scratching his head as the others looked back. "'Sides," he added with a slight smirk, starting on his way back toward the truck, "Gotta find yer body righ'?"

The others nodded, a cheery 'erf' coming from below as Otogi snatched the dog up under his arms. "That's right- like you said," he continued as the dog's tail wagged slightly in anticipation, "They're perfectly capable of-"

"I'm going too," Shizuka decided, pausing briefly as she ran past from grabbing her spear out of the truck. "When you think about it," she continued, backing up somewhat as she faced the boys, "Wouldn't Ota have gone this way with Honda-han's body?" ...Ah...

The boys blinked, turning to each other somewhat awkwardly. ...That... Was a good point. "Ahhh... That is... Yeah... Well," Otogi muttered, before Katsuya sighed and shook his head.

"Ahhh... Heh! What th' hell," the blond laughed, "I guess tha' works," he admitted, before a shout from the ruined wall at the side distracted them.

"Hey hey... Don't forget me either," Ren hissed, falling from over the railing as he slithered over with wide eyes. "I'm here too! Don't you leave me behind!"

The others blinked, watching as the snake hurriedly wound his way over to the group with panting breaths. "I'm... I'm coming too you know..!" Huh...

...That sounded almost scared...

But whatever. The blond shook his head, scooping the snake up with his stick as the serpent gave him an odd, but clearly thankful nod in response. " _Oddly trusting,_ " muttered the ghost in his mind, Katsuya watching as the cobra coiled and came to rest at the top of the staff. " _Any particular reason?"_

Well... The snake trusted him didn't he? Besides... How did that saying go he asked himself with a slight smirk, 'friends close and enemies closer' or something like that? Well, his staff certainly applied... "Alrigh," he laughed, turning to face the tunnel with a grin, "Le's- ... Uh..." O...

Kay...

Where did the tunnel go?

"...The... The tunnel," Shizuka muttered, eyes wide as they looked over the empty ruin space in shock. "It... It vanished... Just vanished."

Silence settled over the crowd for a moment, before the dog under Otogi's mouth began to squirm and shout with outstretched panels and tendrils. "AWWWWWWW! FUCK! I'll never get my body now!"

"Gh- Shut your mouth!" Otogi roared, dropping the dog and backing away as he paled, "That's scary as hell!"

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" his friend wailed as he ignored the request. "DAMN IT!"

"Seriously!" the dancer argued, "Shut your mouth, NOW!" Hahhhh...

And they told him he got into arguments to easily... "Well. This sucks," Ren muttered from the staff, the blond merely groaning as he smacked his head against a bare patch of wood on the stick.

"That, 'Ren' would be puttin' it ligh'ly..."

* * *

"Oh darn it... I forgot Ren!"

Yugi gave a somewhat wry smile as his friend turned to look back down the road they were on, the entrance shrouded in darkness as she fretted over her 'partner's missing form. Truth be told he had to admit to himself, after what happened on the truck between the serpent and Honda, he wasn't too upset about the snake's absence. There was something off about him... Something dark and sinister despite all actions arguing otherwise, and although Honda hadn't been able to offer any proof of the serpent's identity all they had to counter his own attempts to support the matter were words themselves.

And given Jonouchi's discomfort on the topic, and how quickly he'd cut it short and simply stayed out of it...

Well, he had a bad feeling this was another one of his 'abilities' kicking in, and regardless of what sort of 'vision' his friend had gotten, he couldn't help but think of his conversation with Ishizu.

Of the chilling and tragic story she'd told of her brother.

_'Isn't it strange,_ ' he told his other self as he mulled over this, narrowing his eyes in silence, ' _That the snake Anzu has bears hieroglyphs on its back, in the same fashion Ishizu said her brother had?_ '

"Yeah... And Honda made a good point about eyes as well," the spirit of his lighter half continued, a wave of unease coming from his side of their bond. "Malik has violet eyes I think- in addition," he continued with a nervous swallow, "The snake sounds somewhat similar to him... Or at least, similar to 'Namu'," he added. "But why hasn't Anzu noticed that? She was the one who met Namu wasn't she? So why not recognize him?"

Why indeed he thought to himself, before opting to pay attention to the road ahead. Lights could be seen far in the distance, the straight road going on and on and on again as they walked, having given up running for the moment. "This road goes on forever," Anzu muttered, frowning somewhat after a long span of silence. "How much farther do you think we have until we reach the end?"

Yugi turned from what had been another conversation with his lighter half, blinking as he was pulled from idle comments concerning birthdays and lost memories. "Ah-" Oh. That was a good question actually... He looked back to the front, shaking his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted, continuing to walk through the dark before pausing as something caught his eye. Something small... "Ah... Hang on..!"

The boy broke into a run, a small light visible in the distance as his friend chased after with an alarmed shout. It was definitely a light he told himself, boomerang sheathed on his back once more. And as they approached it slowly it grew in intensity and shine. Becoming larger... And larger...

And then with the same abruptness as before he'd begun he skidded to a stop, eyes wide as he came to that which the light illuminated. " _Ah- it's a crossroads!_ " the 'light' Yugi shouted, gleaning the sight from his other's memories as he swallowed. " _But which way..._ "

"Which way do we go?" the other finished, eyes somewhat wide as he repeated the question in his mind. "Whic- Ah! Anzu!" he shouted with a jolt, watching as his friend barrelled down the left path with no worries for what lay beyond.

The woman continued at her steady and hurried gait, looking back with a smile as the boy coughed. "This way," she called out, her friend hurriedly running after her with wide eyes as he was slowly left behind. "Kaiba went this way!"

"But... How do you even know that?" he responded incredulously, the woman merely winking in response.

"It's woman's intuition of course!" Woman's intu-

"Ah-... That sort of thing really works?" he asked almost blankly, turning to look at the woman as she nodded.

"Of course!"

" _...Um..._ " His lighter half laughed somewhat nervously, likely rubbing his head mentally at the moment. " _...No... No it doesn't... But don't tell her I said that,_ " he added, Yugi's confused expression turning into a somewhat forced smile as the boy laughed.

Ahahahaha, but then what if they were wrong about this!

A blinding light appeared at the end of the tunnel with those thoughts, Yugi's attention pulled from his mental arguments amid himself as he stared. "Ah- light," he gasped, the woman beside him merely laughing at his surprise.

"I told you it was the right way," Anzu cheered, gesturing for him to follow. Well... Yes, he supposed so, but- "Come on," she continued, running into the light, "Let's go!"

"A-Ahh! W-Wait! Anzu," he protested, face reddening slightly, "You're faster than me, I- ...I..." The boy paused, slowing to a walk as his vision cleared. "...This place..."

Light faded out as the pair stepped out into what almost looked to be a section of the black forest, great tall firs and pines standing above them. It likely wasn't that famed wood of course. Not with the light in the area and the path that sat there, but it was plain to see that this was a location that was well out of the way of civilization.

"...Where is this place?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes in thought as he stepped forward.

" _It doesn't look like anywhere in Japan,_ " his light responded, also confused at the imagery he was receiving. " _What else do you see though? Maybe it's just something I forgot..._ " Something he forgot?

...Well... There was a path he noted, stepping forward on the somewhat smoothed soil in silence. Anzu was already walking slowly ahead on the path in fact, looking around with wide eyes at where they'd found themselves. "Yugi... Look," she whispered, pointing through the trees as the boy came closer, turning a corner to stare. "It's a mansion..." And what a mansion it was...

The enormous building before them resembled a castle almost, easily standing at an appearance that rivalled Kaiba's own in regality, or at least 'had'. A mansion in the middle of the woods... And ruined too, with a rusted gate bearing a large rose-like symbol across the front and peeling paint beneath walls of thick and uncontrolled ivy. The gate itself hung half open, as though broken from the inside. And before them the building sat in clear disuse beyond mere paint and plant problems, former splendour stolen away and left to sink the building into a haunting state of disarray. All in all even his memories did the building no justice he realized, and it was with those thoughts that his partner's voice came to mind.

" _...Other me_ ," his lighter half whispered, hesitantly probing the back of the boy's thoughts. " _Can I..._ "

_'Of course,_ ' he responded, switching back with the boy without even asking what the question was as his vision was filled with darkness yet again. " _I have to thank you for letting me out for a little... Despite the circumstances, there are parts of this that I've enjoyed quite a lot._ "

_'Haha... Not a problem_ ,' the light Yugi, again in control of the body responded, laughing somewhat as he moved to join Anzu at the gate. ' _You needed a break right..?_ '

" _Right,_ " his partner responded somewhat sleepily, before sinking into a more 'dormant' state.

"...It's so big," Anzu muttered, standing beside her friend before jumping as she looked down to the boy. "A-AH! Yugi- You switched..."

The boy flushed, bowing somewhat in apology as he rubbed his head. "Erm... Haha... Sorry Anzu," he said with a nervous smile. "I probably should have said something I guess..."

The woman shook her head, laughing quietly as she held her hands out in a calming gesture. "No... No it's fine," she coughed, the smile somewhat forced in lieu of the shock. "Just a little bit of a surprise, you know?" The woman continued to smile despite this however, looking to the mansion with a nervous swallow as she held her staff close. "...This building... Do you think Kaiba went inside?" she asked, unconsciously moving to grip her arms tightly alongside the staff.

Maybe, he thought nervously, an odd feeling radiating from the building's form. But rather than say so the boy frowned, biting his lip and shaking his head.

Or maybe not. "I... ...It feels like we shouldn't go in," he said quietly, friend turning to stare confusedly as the boy continued. "I don't know why," he whispered, "But I... I don't think..."

A sound came over the air before Anzu could respond. A soft one, very soft, almost quiet enough for them to miss it completely.

- _shk... Shk... Shk..._

That sound...

A frown came over his face as the sound faintly rumbled from inside the house, a wind seeming to pass from the building itself. "Do... Do you hear that?" Anzu asked, the boy nodding hesitantly as the sound grew louder.

"It sounds almost like crying," commented his other, the unease of his partner having pulled him back to attention. It did...

Maybe it _was_ crying... "A baby then?" he asked, stepping closer as the sound altered in level and pitch. This sound... The boy's eyes narrowed in confusion, a hand brushing against the gate as he tapped it inward. "Or maybe..."

"A woman," his friend finished, following after her friend before hesitating. "...You don't think it's another of Noa's tricks do you?" she asked, swallowing nervously. Maybe, he thought to himself. But...

"Aibou," his partner whispered worriedly, "I know that she isn't the type to succumb to this point, but you don't think that maybe... Inside this mansion..." That maybe it was...

Her? Yugi swallowed at the thought, stepping forward to push the gate to the side completely as his friend stared. "We should go see what's wrong," he said almost nervously, looking back with shivering eyes as he bit his lip. "Just in case..!"

The woman beside him stared, before nodding and following the boy's lead despite her obvious confusion. "Right," she said with a nod, the pair moving up toward the mansion's massive doors to push inside. "It can't hurt I guess," the woman continued, wincing as a large creaking noise rang through the foyer before them.

Upon entering the mansion the scene of a typical abandoned home met their eyes, thick dust clouds springing to the air as Yugi coughed and waved a few motes from his face. Marble floors were completely grey now, and above them spiders had made their home along every corner available with cobwebs clinging to their bodies as they stepped inside.

"Gh- Kah-ah..."

"Unng... This place hasn't been used in a long time," Anzu wheezed, using her sleeves as a mask of sorts as they walked forward through the musky air. "Just whose house is this do you think?” she continued, looking to her friend as the boy frowned.

"It's definitely not Kaiba-san's," he responded confidently, walking up the stairs as the sound of crying seemed to increase in volume and intensity both. "His mansion is shaped differently, with two separate wings on either side... This house is more of a 'block' I think."

"Well... We definitely don't know any one else with houses like this," the woman muttered, poking her head into one of the rooms as they went down the hall upstairs. Slight coughing came over the air as she ducked back out, waving a cloud of dust from her face with a wince. "Hnn... Just where is that crying coming from?" she asked aloud, looking up and down the hall with narrowed eyes.

Yugi frowned, shaking his head as he glanced back from the room he'd been checking himself. "I don't know... It's not in this one," he added, looking back into the dusty bedroom as he sighed. Nothing but un-used and white-sheet covered furniture, with a thick layer of dust over each one. "Did you find anything?" the boy asked, a hopeful smile coming over his face.

"Nope," she answered, closing another door as the smile dropped. The woman moved on to yet another room as the crying continued, biting her lip in annoyance. "I thought it was the right one, and I think there was even a rattle but... Well," Anzu sighed, "It was just empty..." Hnnn...

That wasn't good.

_-Shk... shhk... Shku... shk sk... Nsk..._

The boy looked down the hall as crying continued, slowly walking toward the next room with a wide-eyed frown. "Anzu," he whispered, the woman following behind as they came toward the door. "Over here... I think it's-"

The door creaked open, and with a rush of wind everything changed. Sun floated through the window, a slight breeze blowing against the curtain. Rather than white sheets covering the furniture there was warm and comforting blankets, picture laden tables, ticking clocks...

_'Rota,_ ' a nervous voice called out, slow and steady as though approaching a rabid hound about to strike or flee. ' _Rota,_ ' the shaking voice of a middle aged man begged, _'Listen carefully... Please... Just don't... Don't do this,_ ' he wept, form unseen as a chair sat in the center.

Yugi froze as he and Anzu attentions moved to the chair, walking in to stare at the sloppily dressed woman before them. Steady tears were running down her face, with wide eyes and a broken smile in place. She was an extremely tall young woman. Fair in appearance, with hair that was as pale as Noa's own despite foreign appearances telling her otherwise. But it was not her face, nor her beauty that caught their eyes as a man who sounded almost like Gozaburo begged her to listen to his words.

It was the gun she held to her chin, as shaking hands made to squeeze the trigger at any moment.

' _You're insane,_ ' she was whispering, shaking her head. _'Completely... Insane..! Dead... They're... All dead... All.._.'

' _Rota please just put it down_ ,' the man in the background continued desperately, both of the teens in the room simply staring in shock as the woman shivered.

She shook her head again. And again. And again...

' _He's gone... My boy is gone! And now my baby... I... I'm not letting you talk about how you can bring him back... I am not letting you tell me he's in some kind of... Special 'machine'_ ,' she cried, crazed smile still on her face. ' _I'm not... Because you... You took him away, you killed him, just like you killed my baby..._ '

' _Rota... Listen to me Rota... That was a miscarry, that wasn't your fault... And no one saw that car,_ ' he wept, ' _No one... But please just put the gun down Rota, we can talk later... Please_ ,' the voice wept.

"Oh my god," Anzu cried, tears dotting her eyes. "She's going to-"

' _I'm sorry... But I want to see my son again... If you're telling the truth... You'll put me in that machine with him, won't you?_ '

_'Rota... Rota listen, ROTA... ROTA!-_ '

The bang echoed through the air, Anzu letting out a slight choked scream as she covered her mouth and shut her eyes. With the explosion of the bullet 'Rota's head had blasted back on her neck, body erupting into mist and dust as the gun fell on the ground and vanished with it. Yugi and the others both stared in shocked silence even after the scene was gone.

After the man's screams echoed through the room, after the blankets and sunlight were replaced with dust motes and white sheets.

"That... Who was that?" Anzu whispered with a swallow, breathing heightened to an alarming extent despite all attempts to calm down from the scene. "She looked almost like Kaiba, she- Oh my god was she-"

"It wasn't Kaiba-san's mother," he said weakly, standing numbly in the room as he continued to stare at the curtain cloaked chair. "Kaiba-san... He was adopted remember?" he choked nervously, "And Mokuba said she died giving birth to him..."

"But then who was that?" the woman whispered, backing up and away from the door and chair before bumping into a table at the side. "Gh! Nnn... ...That... Who was it..."

Yugi slowly turned, shaking his head as Anzu continued to shake off her shock with no success. "I... I don't know," he said with a swallow, staring toward the mostly empty table. "I don't...”

" _...Aibou_ ," his other self whispered softly, " _What's that thing on the table..?_ " The table?

The boy blinked, walking over to where his friend stood to look at the object his partner spoke of. On the table...

The boy reached out, grabbing the object in question with somewhat narrowed eyes as he looked it over. "A picture frame," he muttered, Anzu looking over her friend's shoulder as the boy hesitantly wiped it clean of dust. "Then this must be- Aaa- _Aaaaahhh_..!"

"H- This is-" Yugi and his friend both stared at the picture with wide eyes, the former almost dropping it in shock.

"That's... That's Noa," Anzu whispered in shock, eyes wide as she looked at the image. "And beside him... That's..."

"Kaiba Gozaburo..."

* * *

On the ruined plain of collapsed buildings and stone, Katsuya and the others had been having an interesting time to say the least. After the tunnel disappeared a fog had begun to set in mere moments after the fact, bringing with it a depressing air and a cool wind. An unanimous decision had been made to get back to the truck as clouds began filling the air as well, and shortly after starting the machine up, it had even begun to rain. For a moment he'd been set to grumble and duck under his cloak, the others making to sit under the canopy in the meantime.

And then the 'field' appeared, and suddenly they were all too eager to sit on the uncovered half to watch water spill on the 'glass' above.

"Woaaaaaahh... That is cool," Honda muttered as he sat on one of the benches, Ren somehow managing to find himself coiled around the puppy's neck as they both watched the 'ceiling' absorb each droplet that struck it. "What is that," he muttered, "A force field..?"

The others merely looked up at the field and shrugged, staring with wide eyes as a pale, green-tinged film appeared over top of them to block any and all rain as it fell. "I dunno," Katsuya muttered, shaking his head as he forced himself to pay attention to the roads. "I mean... It looks like somethin' outta a sci-fi 'r somethin'," he muttered, swallowing nervously.

"There's more stuff back here too," Otogi added, he and Shizuka both studying some sort of 'screen' at the back as the truck trundled up the cliff to reach a dam and bridge. The vehicle moved to travel from the stone ground to the smooth and paved highway, rain continuing to spill as they slowly made their way onward. "It wasn't on before," the teen was continuing, "So we thought it was a table but..."

"But what?" Katsuya asked, turning back to look as the other humans stared at the device in question. "What is it?"

"It's some kind of... Map," Shizuka said with slight surprise, tapping the screen as various portions were either enhanced or brought to the background. "It's a GPS system I think... I can even tell where Anzu and Yugi are," she added with surprise, before frowning. "Erm... Though since everything is connected through those 'doors' we keep finding, that's largely useless right now..."

At this Honda walked over to peer at the map himself, rearing on his haunches and sending a few 'feelers' up to stare at the screen as the others stared. "Cool," he muttered cheerily, the others swallowing in unease as the tendrils moved across the map. "It really is like something from a sci-fi!"

"Alright... No offense or anything," Otogi laughed nervously, "I mean... I get this wasn't your choice of appearance, but..."

"Honda-han," Shizuka asked somewhat nervously, a few feelers turning in the air to point toward the two, "Are you sure there's no other way for you to see..?"

The dog turned completely, head still resembling a metal 'sphere' of sorts as he 'shrugged'. "Pretty sure," he admitted with a slight grimace. "I think I had eyes before but... Well..."

At this, Ren frowned, sliding up from where he'd settled around Katsuya's staff to examine the dog's 'mouth'. "Hn... Maybe it's something I did," he muttered, the dog's fur bristling in response

"Ah- It better not be," Honda growled, his passenger hurriedly fleeing to a safer location with a short 'eep'.

"Ahh! Just saying," he hurriedly shouted in defense, laughing somewhat nervously. "Maybe there's someway to just change it! I mean, hell," the snake continued as he frowned, "Did you even try making it look like that mask thing?"

Honda paused, Katsuya as well turning back as the truck slowly moved down the road ahead. "...That... Ah..."

"That's a good point," Otogi muttered, blinking a few times as he and Shizuka both took seats near the map. "Until you turned on Ren," he continued quietly, "It looked like a muzzle of sorts... After that... Well..."

A short silence seemed to settle with those words, the dog looking down a moment as an odd 'hnnn' sound came from him. "Well... That's true..." He looked back up, a few more tendrils curling through the air as he continued to grumble. "But even so, what do you think this is, some sort of 'thought trigger'?"

As Ren managed yet another of his impossible shrugs the others stared, Shizuka the first to answer. "Well... It can't hurt to try right?" she said, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged as the truck stopped along the side of the bridge.

"I guess," Honda muttered, Otogi in the meantime looking to the front with a frown. "Wait why are we stopping..?"

Katsuya hopped back into the trailer, smirking as he leaned back against the 'map desk' with a laugh. "Hah! Like hell I'm missing this," he said with a grin, giving his currently in-human friend a thumb's up. "Alrigh' Honda, let's see what happens!"

"Oi oi, you say that like I'm going to explode!" the dog whined, cringing somewhat as his tail abruptly stopped its slow wag. "...And... So does the look on your face..."

"Nihan," the blond's sister warned, narrowing her eyes as her brother continued to grin.

"Shizuka, he's been sittin' in yer arms f'r a few hours, I'm not gonna jus' sit back an' smile about it."

"W- H-HEY!" Honda shouted, yelping as his 'mouth' again opened wide. "What does that even mean-"

"You know," Ren offered somewhat smugly, chuckling from the side as the dog continued to growl, "You might want to try now."

The dog stared, as though considering a third option on dealing with the snake before nodding. "Right... Um... Thinking of dogs then," he muttered, the serpent at the side seeming to grin.

"Aaaaand?" he asked, the dog snarling in response.

"Stuff it snake-boy, I'm thinking!"

The snake in question hissed, shaking his head in mock hurt. "Really," he 'moaned', "So mean and-... Ah-" Ren blinked, looking up as Katsuya pulled him forward on the staff without any warning. "Hey... What's with that?" he asked quietly, hanging upside down from the stick as it was brought back to an upright position.

"Trus' me, I gotta feelin' yer safer up fron'," he told the snake, Ren in question making himself comfortable on the bridge railing at the side as he was dumped there. "Now..."

As Honda sat before them it seemed nothing was happening. There was merely silence in the air, a small breeze passing them by as the dog held completely still. After a moment however, a change occurred. A shift in the metal, a bend in the form as small dents began to appear. Fur melted out from the metal, a small snout pointed forward, and as pricked ears pointed to attention a pair of eyes opened. And then closed... Opened...

Closed...

A few more blinks and the dog 'yawned', stretching somewhat as it stood again. "Well," Honda said with another yawn, shaking himself and looking around. "I don't feel any different, so-"

"Ah- Honda," Otogi coughed, shaking his head as the dog continued to look about the trailer. "What are you talking about?"

The dog turned, now 'normal' head staring up with a slight frown. "What do you mean, 'what am I talking about'?" he growled lightly, "Nothing happened, that's what!" Nothing?

"Honda-han," Shizuka said from the side, grabbing her spear to let the puppy see its off colored reflection as she laughed. "You're kidding me... It worked perfectly!" she continued with a smile, "You look perfectly fine!"

"Not t' mention _adorable_ ," Katsuya chuckled teasingly, receiving a fairly unamused sigh from the ghost in his mind. What! It was true!

Honda for his part seemed to have ignored the comment in lieu of the positives however, tail even wagging as he stared in the spear head. Sitting, standing, sitting; he could barely contain himself!

"AhAHAHAHA! This is great!" he cheered, finally jumping to his feet as he barked. "Well... I'm still a dog of course," he added with a cough, "But this is awesome! I don't have that head thing to worry about any more!"

Another cough met the air, the others turning to share looks before looking back at the puppy. "Ahh... Hang on," Otogi muttered, "Are you sure about the..."

"Of course," Honda argued, sitting down again with a nod. "Just watch; aaaaa _aaAAAAA-_ "

"AAAAUGH! AUGH!" The others pulled fairly disgusted faces as the flesh and blood head seemed to split, the feelers and tentacles still quite present within the now organic mouth as teeth jutted forward.

"AUGH! Close your mouth!" Otogi screamed, looking away, "Close your mouth!"

"W-What... Hey, it can't be that bad!"

"Are you kiddin' me!" the blond responded, holding back a wave of virtual lunch, "Tha's worse than even b'fore..."

"H-Honda-han," Shizuka said nervously, "P... Please keep your volume down from now on..."

The dog hurriedly pulled the sides of his mouth back in at that, a clear expression of shock and worry on his face as the others sighed in relief. "Eh... Sorry about that..."

"It's fine," Otogi coughed, looking back to the map for something to distract himself with as he pushed the image of the 'mouth' from mind. "Just... Don't... Open your mouth..."

"Alright," he said calmly, "I'll-" "

Ever," Shizuka added quietly, the dog falling forward on its front.

"Okay," Honda muttered, "I-"

"Seriously," Katsuya continued, hopping into the front, "Or I'll shoot y'."

"Gh- I got it alright!" he snarled, mouth flying open again as those watching pulled faces.

"GH- Honda-han," the girl muttered, the dog below closing up once more.

"Right... Sorry."

"Hahhh..." Otogi leaned back on his seat, shaking his head. "At least we know how this works now," he muttered, shaking his head with a sigh. "Better than dealing with things like Kaiba's stupid hips..."

"Uh..." Katsuya coughed, looking back with narrowed and confused eyes. "'M sorry, what? Yer gettin' confused abou' what?"

The teen frowned, turning from his seat. "Oh come on... You can't tell me you didn't see his HIPS in the last fight," he protested, the blond's eyebrows raising somewhat at the reminder. "They... They were like..." He made a curved gesture with his hands, the others staring rather blankly as he fussed. "W- Come on! Do you have any idea how creeped out I am about this?" Otogi shouted, hands shaking as he looked to the others. "It... They weren't normal!"

The others shared awkward looks for a moment, eventually looking back with blank stares. "...Well... Not sure about everyone else but... I didn't see anything like that," Honda muttered after a moment, looking over at the others. "...I mean... What the hell are you talking about... ...Did you guys see that kind of thing?"

"Nope," Katsuya said quickly, as Shizuka gave an honest shrug from the side. "Nothin' at all," he hurriedly continued, "Yer losin' it Otogi."

"I... I'm not losing it!" he snarled, gripping one of the sides of the railing.

Shizuka smiled somewhat wryly, shaking her head. "Sorry Otogi-han... But I really don't think..."

"Ah- You too!" the teen cried, looking to the girl. "Really..?"

"Well it's not like anything you're saying makes sense!"

"Heeeeey guys?" Ren asked from the side, the serpent's head bent over the side of the bridge as he coughed. "I think I spotted something and... Um... You should probably look. Right now." The others turned, watching as the snake abruptly drew back and scooted off to the truck. "Or maybe we should just leave. That would probably be better," he continued in a slight panic, sliding back into the truck as Honda moved to take his place at the bridge.

"Weird, I don't see anything..."

"Leave?" Shizuka asked as Honda muttered about nothing being there, "What are you talking about..?"

"Leaving, living, they sound the same right?" the snake responded, the others raising their eyebrows.

"Oi oi," Katsuya muttered in agitation, "If you don' explain what th' hell you're talkin' abou', I'm gonna dissect you damn it..!"

At this a scream suddenly broke through the air, Honda jumping back as his mouth opened wide to compensate for the amount of noise being made. "AAAAAA- _AAHHH! ROUF! ROUR! ROU-ROU ROU-ROU... ROURF!_ "

"Hondaaaaa," Shizuka moaned, ducking down as the teen had another momentary 'canine relapse', head splitting open to the others.

"Honda, if you plan on impressing someone," Otogi muttered dryly, "You're not doing a good job of it..."

"GH- The snake was right!" the dog exclaimed in a panic, mouth thankfully closing somewhat as he scrambled about the bridge railing.

...They agreed! "Eh?"

The others blinked, Otogi hopping out of the truck with a blank stare as he went to inspect the location himself. "What do you mean, 'right', you said yourself you didn't see-"

"That was before, this is now! There are monsters in the water!" he continued in panic, "MONSTERS DAMN IT!"

Otogi hurriedly pulled back as the alien and fleshy head opened yet again, eye twitching as the dog's many feelers again began flailing centimetres away from him. "Gh... H-Hey, calm down..! That's disgusting..!"

"How am I supposed to calm down!" the dog whined fearfully, "We're screwed! I saw at least four pairs of eyes in there, we can't take down those things!"

"Ahh... Four monsters?" Shizuka asked, her brother merely growling as he hopped out of the truck to snatch the dog by its collar.

"Y-erf!"

"Tch... You're th' monster y' moron! Now shut your mouth!"

The dog did as told, Honda giving a somewhat nervous swallow as he was tossed back to the truck. "Hey, I don't know about you," Ren called from the rear of the trailer, "But we were both telling the truth... Oh hey, that reminds me," the snake added, looking over to Honda as he laughed. "What was it you said earlier by the way?" he asked as he grinned, "That it'd be a 'cold day in hell' before you agreed with me?"

"I swear to god I'm going to swallow you whole," the dog snarled, Shizuka's face twisting at the thought.

"Ewwwwwww..."

"Damn it Honda stop scarin' my sister!"

"I'm not scared," she muttered, "I'm nauseated..."

"Are we going to go back to looking for the others now?" Otogi asked idly, leaning against the truck with a yawn, "Because while the rain might have stopped, it's still pretty wet out here, and I'm wearing leather so-"

"Shhhhhhh," Ren hissed, the teen blinking as the serpent continued. "I'm waiting to see how long it'll take before they notice that noise..."

"...What noise?"

As Otogi asked Ren about 'the noise' the others froze, Katsuya and Honda both turning to look over the bridge rather slowly as the water began to move. The dog was dropped immediately, loud howling barks tearing through the air as it fled while the others jumped back from what were now raging seas.

"H-HAHH! What th' hell!"

"ROU! ROUF ROUF ROU!" the dog barked angrily, "ROU _ROUROUROUR”_

"Honda not now!" he growled, the puppy yelping in surprise.

"AH- Sorry!"

"Hehehehehe..." Water burst from the waves below, spiralling higher and higher into the air until it formed a massive and swirling platform of water above them. There were four monsters there. The 'Psycho Shocker', hands placed on the water's surface in some sort of control motion. The Judgeman, a massive gavel in his grip, teeth ground and sharp. A penguin, gripping a whip in its fins, and a fish-like warrior with a spear... "Found you," the four called out all at once, their identities made known simply with those words.

Katsuya continued to stumble back before hitting the truck's side, the others swallowing nervously as the four hovered before them. Oh shit... Oooohhhh shit...

"Y-You guys again?" he protested, Otogi and Shizuka both gripping their weapons tightly as the monsters hovered in the air.

"What... We already defeated you!" Otogi shouted, knives in his hands as he took a stance on the side of the truck, somehow able to keep his footing on the railing. "What do you want?"

Chuckling echoed from the monsters above, each one merely sneering as they laughed. "Hn! Isn't it obvious?" the Deepsea Warrior, voice recognized as 'Oshita' asked. "We're here for your bodies!"

"Bod- Hey! You can't do that!” Ren shouted, poking his head out from the trailer despite what looked to be nervous shivering. "Like the dancer-guy said," he continued, Otogi deciding to ignore the nickname momentarily, "We beat you all fair and square!"

"And I want my body BACK!" Honda added as he snarled, those above apparently ignorant of the mutation his head continued to show. "I don't even have one to give, you can't take mine AGAIN!"

The four above them merely stared, narrowing their eyes if visible at all. "Hnn... True," Oshita muttered darkly, "We lost to your friends... But that doesn't mean we can't have a re-match..."

A rematch..? Shizuka paled at the words, stepping back somewhat before bumping into a turret-like structure on the side of the truck. "N-Nihan," she said with a swallow, "I know there's technically five of us but..."

"Only three of us can fight," Otogi finished, clenching his daggers tightly. "And only two of us can properly duel, with none of us having that kind of advantage," he finished, gesturing to the water.

Yeaaaaah... Levitating water was kinda out of their reach. The blond swallowed, looking up as he stepped forward. "Tha's fine," he said clearly, adjusting his grip on the staff in his hand. "You two jus' sit tight... I'll handle it!"

"Uh... You're gonna fight four people at once?" Ren asked incredulously, the ghost apparently agreeing.

" _Merea_ ," he muttered with a cough, " _I understand your math skills are less than favourable, but you should probably take my advice when I say... Reconsider. Right now_ ," he added flatly.

Katsuya ignored the two, instead staring the monsters down with his staff in hand as they chuckled. Hmp! He'd teach them to laugh at him. "Heh... So! Who's first then?" he said with a grin, cracking his knuckles as he moved into a fighting stance. "Fish-guy? Penguin? Maybe even you Oka, not tha' we don' know how that's gonna end," he added with a dark smirk.

He probably should have realized something was wrong when the monsters continued chuckling, given that they had drawn back further to prepare a series of attacks. "Ohhhh... There won't be any ridiculous games of cards this time," Oshita chuckled, twirling his spear as a small pillar of water arose from the platform created. "We'll be taking a more direct route..."

"Wh... What..." As Katsuya froze the first attack was made, Daimon throwing a hand forward as the blond paled.

"TSUNAMI!" the cyborg roared, the pillar blasting forward in the form of an enormous beam of water.

"Ah- STEEL GUARD! " came Shizuka's voice in defense, a ray of light blasting from the end of her spear. An immense sheet of glass appeared at the end of it, gleaming before them as it forced the raging waters up and around them. "Gh... Nihan!" she shouted, the glass beginning to crack after mere seconds, "This spell won't last long..!"

"And there's no way we can take these four down as it is," Otogi added, knives fading from existence as he hopped in the trailer with a swallow.

Katsuya nodded, running for the drivers seat as he turned the keys. "Got it," he called out, "Let's g-"

- _Bssssssst_ -

What.

"Uhhhh... Not that I'm much for trucks," Ren offered with a higher than normal tone, "But that didn't sound healthy."

Gh! No shit he thought to himself, tell him something he didn't know! "How about 'it's not a truck'?" offered his ghostly stowaway, the blond grabbing his head as he chose to focus on more important matters. Come on...

Come on!

_-bsssssst- ... -bssssssssst_

"Aggggg... C'mon y' piece of crap!" he hissed, turning back as the others attempted to hold their position and shield from the back.

"Ngh... Not much longer!" Shizuka cried, the others biting their lips as the girl broke into a sweat. "Hah... N-Nihan," she continued, "You need to hurry! It takes five seconds for me to re-set the shield..!"

"Aggggh- I'm goin' I'm goin'!" the blond shouted, smacking the steering wheel with a snarl. "NOTHIN'S WORKIN'!"

"Damn it... This would be so much easier if we had everyone else here," Otogi shouted, spinning a knife in his hand as Shizuka shook.

"Well we don't," Honda countered angrily, "And I'm about as useful as dirt here..."

"Yeah," Ren snorted, "Seeing how even killing you wouldn't do anything to them." Ah.

Katsuya reached back, snatching the dog up before it could respond to the comment as a flash came to mind. An explosion... A shout...

Rushing waters and thundering skies. And if he didn't move now...

"...Ahhh..! Screw it!" he snarled, turning back as the others stared.

"Wh-Wh- What the hell! Jonouchi!" Honda protested, the blond reaching over the side, "What are you-"

"Got a feelin'!" he shouted, gripping the collar tight as the dog flailed in his grip, "You better not fail us Honda!"

"Fail us?!" he shouted incredulously, the blond pulling the puppy back with grit teeth. "What are you talking aboA _AAAA-AAAA-AAAAAHHHHHH_! FUCK YOU JONO _UCHIIIIIIIiiiiii!_ "

As he sailed through the air Katsuya went back to work, the others shaking off their shock at the sight to turn on the blond.

"N-NIHAN!" Shizuka protested, her shield faltering as the Big 5 also paused in confusion. "What are you-"

"Jonouchi," their friend cut in, "You just THREW HONDA-"

"DAMN that's a good toss!" Ren shouted cheerily, the others in the trailer fixing him with a frown. "Well it was."

And a couple seconds later, there was a 'damn good explosion' too to the other's surprise. As the dog flailed, falling forward, something had happened, that much he knew. A program... Something Noa had already laced in his mind. Something he'd seen...

And about half way through the start up of the truck, that 'something' activated.

"-ASSAULT MODE ACTIVATED-," a robotic tone announced, Honda's already open mouth locking into place as he curled in the air. "-FIRING-"

"Firing?!" one of the monsters shouted with a start, a glowing light developing at the end of Honda's throat. "Gh- This is one of Noa-sama's-"

A mushroom cloud seemed to erupt in the air, the engine finally roaring to life as Katsuya turned to look at the side. Nothing but water and smoke.. Along with a speck flying back in the distance.

"C'mon," he muttered, the others silent at what had apparently just been their friend's second death as the blond swallowed. "C'mon," he whispered, "We ain't leavin' till y' get here..."

"H-Honda-ha- AHH!"

"Gggggg... Jonouchi!" The group's eyes widened for the most part as a distant 'spec' cleared up, paws flailing in the air as he sputtered. "Pleh! Glach!" More choking and sputtering came from the distance, along with the slight whir of a 'helicopter' as what looked to be the metal panels of the dog's head spun in a circular motion. "I swear it if that hadn't of worked," he snarled, tendrils and wires lashing in rage amid the spins.

"Wh- HE FLIES!?" an incredulous roar from the back called out.

"Not now 'Ren'!" The blond stuck his staff out as the dog latched onto the side with the wires, smoke beginning to clear from the air as the truck tore off on the highway. "We ain't outta here yet..."

The others blinked, frowning. "Not out of here?" Otogi muttered, looking back at the disappearing cloud. "But that explosion..."

"Nihan," his sister whispered confusedly, "How did you even know that explosion would-"

"Would be some kind of cannon from my face? I don't know?" Honda shouted with a swallow, "But as much as I'd like to know why, I can tell you that's not going to kill them! All I did was destroy the platform!"

"But isn't that how they travel?" the tallest of the group muttered, Katsuya not looking back to check.

There was a short silence, Shizuka's gasp answering the question for them as she gripped her spear. "Um... I don't think so," she whispered fearfully, pointing through the 'back window' of the canopy trailer. "Look..."

"...Oh. Shi-"

"HURRICANE!" came a rage filled cry, Shizuka's spear hurriedly pointed through the trailer window as she swallowed.

"Nn! STEEL GUARD!" As those in the back turned around to focus on the battle, Katsuya already knew what they could see.

And as he continued to drive down at top speed, he really wished that there was a cave somewhere up ahead.


	14. Battle Royale Roulette

The tunnel she traveled in had become... Something else she noted during the travels along what was a former highway. It had roughened, turning into a cave- Not even that she told herself as she stepped through the dark, stones seeming to vanish as she continued on.

She was simply walking through a void, and had been since taking the right-hand path off the highway. Nothing but darkness, endless darkness, along a path she somehow knew to take. She was not alone though.

Not completely she realized soon enough, sword in hand in the windless air.

_'He's mine now,_ ' a voice whispered, brushing against her ear as an uncontrolled shudder came over her. Narrowed and paranoid eyes flicking to the side with each sound as the whispers passed her by, seeming to bear solid form. _'Mine,_ ' the whispers were repeating, _'I have him now..._ '

The woman grit her teeth, continuing down the 'hall'. She had to ignore it she told herself. Ignore the mutterings and keep going...

' _I've always wanted a brother,_ ' the voice was humming, Seto closing her eyes with a growl. Shut up...

' _How about a sister as well?_ ' it asked as she covered her ears, Shut up..! _'Or perhaps you'd like to stay here instead..._ ' Gh..!

"Ngh... Let him GO!" she shouted into the darkness, breathing rapidly as she momentarily paused in her run to bring her hands to her sides. "Hah... Hah..." Tired... She was attempting to ignore it but she was... Tired... "Hah... ...Hah... Tch..." First the crossroads, then this... "Taunting me like this... Why don't you just face me now?" the woman snarled, tightening her grip on her sword.

"Hnn... Like this?"

Seto's blood ran cold as she turned around, Noa's smirking form visible before her. He...

He was right there..! "You..." Only a moment's pause and her energy returned, face flushing red as the woman steadied her resolve. "You MONSTER!” she snarled, pulling her blade forward and charging the boy. "HRA-H!"

"Gh-!" As the blade connected the woman's scowl fell, replaced with horror as what shifted into her brother's body stumbled backwards. As white clothes became the very striped t-shirt he wore in the real world, light hair darkening to a black mop. No...

"Hn-nn... Nee-sama," he rasped, blood spilling from the long and well placed wound, dribbling from his mouth with each breath, his nose, staining the hand he'd brought to the wound in pain... "Why..."

"Ahhh..." No... "AAA-AA _AAAAAHHHH-.._!" NO! The sword clattered to the ground as she stumble back, the body falling to burst into flames before her very eyes as she screamed. "M-MOKUBA!"

"Oooh... Sorry about that," a smug voice muttered, Seto turning yet again as the 'real' Noa stood before her. Wide eyes merely stared with horror and shock as the boy continued to chuckle, breathing quickened as she struggled to regain composure. "Honestly though," he muttered, the clothes he wore identical in appearance to that which 'Mokuba' had been wearing seconds before, "That hurt! You should be careful with that thing," he continued, chuckling darkly as he brought up a bloodied hand. "Someone might not get up next time..."

"You... ...You..." This...

This... No words could describe this boy! None at all, even demons could be considered compliments! There was still blood on her hands, blood on her sword... Blood on the clothes of the boy before her, her 'brother's face still burned into her mind...

"What did you do with my brother?" she hissed, eyes still wide from the shock of what she'd 'almost' done. "Where have you taken him!"

The boy before her tilted his head, the smirk still in place as he watched the woman panic. "What did I do?" Noa asked, "Absolutely nothing... But I suppose a reunion is order," he continued, snapping his fingers as all light, including himself, vanished from the area. "So here we go then..." Wh...

What- "H- Hnn!" The ground vanished from beneath her feet, knocking the wind from her lungs as she sank downward. "H-HAAAAHHHH!" Falling...

She was falling now, and- Ah-!

"Gh!" The woman landed with an abrupt 'thump', unable to hide the grimace that it resulted in as she groaned. "Hng..." This place... "Noa," she spat, pulling herself to her feet with still ragged breaths as she looked around, "If you think that doing this will save you from what I intend to do with you once I escape, I-"

She cut herself off as she looked to who was standing behind her, eyes widening as the boy's partially armored form met her gaze.

"M-Mokuba..." He was alright... He was perfectly fine, he was alright..! He was standing there, simply staring from beside a cough... Which meant... "Gh... Noa," she hissed, looking to the side as she attempted to locate the fiend. "Do you honestly think that by taking my brother you 'surpass' me? That this somehow makes you a better 'person'?"

"Ooooh not at all," the boy answered, appearing at Mokuba's side as the woman glared. "One of your former employees were the ones to do this... Not me. If anything," he continued with a smirk, crossing his arms as Seto sheathed her blade and walked toward them, "You should be thanking me for saving him..." Thank him?

Hn! "As if I would do that," she spat lowly, before moving to grab her brother's arm. "Come on Mokuba... Let's get away from this maniac and-" She paused, receiving a tug instead of a 'glide' from the arm as expected.

He wasn't moving..?

"...Mokuba..?" The woman turned back, frowning as she held her loose and protective grip on the boy. "...Mokuba what's wrong?" she asked, her brother pulling his arm back as he stepped away. Why was he... "We need to leave," Seto repeated. "Come on... We need-"

"I don't want to," he said plainly, the woman's eyes widening as her brother shook his head. Why...

"But why... Jonouchi, Yugi, myself... All your friends are waiting," she told him, "I'm waiting, I've been looking for you..!"

And she'd found him, while everyone else wandered elsewhere, found him because she _cared_ -

"I want to stay with Noa-niichan," the boy said plainly, sister continuing to pale. Nii...

Chan..?

The woman's somewhat calm if not confused expression fell flat, Seto turning on Noa with grit teeth. "You... Sick BASTARD!" she spat, eyes wide as she pulled out her sword once more. "What kind of 'brainwashing' is this!" Seto roared, pointing down to her brother as the boy at her side frowned. "You have no right to play with my brother's mind... Undo whatever you've done NOW!"

As Mokuba flinched under the shouts, ducking away, Noa sighed and shook his head. "Hn! Just when I thought you couldn't be more accusing... I haven't done anything to him! You said it yourself didn't you?" he sneered, the taller of the three shaking in rage. "'Hypnosis can't make you do what you absolutely don't want to'... Which means this was his decision," the boy continued darkly, "Plain and simple..." His decision...

But it couldn't be! It wouldn't, this wasn't...

Mokuba wouldn't do that! "What the hell are you going on about?" she growled threateningly, sword shaking some what as she stared the boy down. "I know damn well that this is your doing... Reverse it- NOW!"

"Hahhhh... You really are a fool aren't you..." What? "We heard everything from your battle you know," Noa told her, crossing his arms with a look of 'knowing' as the woman stiffened. "Every single thing you said and Daimon said. We know you used Mokuba for your own selfish gain, and we know what you did," the boy hissed, lips curled back with distaste. "Which reminds me... Mokuba?" he asked 'curiously', a bitterly sweet smile on his face, "Did you ever get those stocks back..?" Gh...

The stocks? The stocks were owned jointly, they weren't-

Slowly, her face continued to fall, the woman staring at her brother's still and determined form as she was met with an expression of calm rage. "Mokuba... You believe those words?" she whispered in horror, pointing toward Noa as she stepped toward him. "You believe Daimon, the one who sent you to Pegasus?"

The one who did so because of what she'd done to him, a nasty voice hissed in the back of his mind, the woman hurriedly banishing the thought. Noa chuckled from the side as he watched the exchange, narrowing his eyes with a shrug. "Well... Are any of those words false..?" F-

The word caught Seto off guard, the woman's eyes frozen on her brother's face. False... To even ask such a question would mean... "...You... You can't really believe him," she whispered, shaking her head. "You can't..."

For a moment, she thought she saw something in her brother's eyes. Something small, subtle...

Forgiveness perhaps, or even (if it had to be) pity. But in an instant it was gone.

Gone and replaced with that same stubborn frown, Noa placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as he spoke. "How pathetic," he chuckled, the two turning to walk away as the shorter glanced back. "She's completely terrified that you've abandoned her... We should just leave," he continued, Mokuba nodding in agreement. Gh...

All of this... "Are you so desperate to 'surpass' me?" she hissed, sword glowing with heat in a mere instant as her rage returned. "Are you so eager to defeat me in my own life that you would do this?"

"Defeat?" Noa repeated, a humored smirk on his face. "Hnhnhnhnhn... You know, I realized long ago that you were a proud woman, despite all the hiding you do in your life... But to think. You're so conceited and arrogant to the point you're nothing more than a joke!" Gh... This little, disgusting,- "Of course I 'win' over you," the boy was continuing with a laugh, he and Mokuba taking a seat on the couch before them. "You were nothing more than a 'failsafe' after all..." A...

"A failsafe?" she hissed, eyes wide as the sword went dull once more. "What do you mean, FAILSAFE?"

At this Noa gained a look of faux-surprise, bringing a hand to his face. "Oh? He never told you then?"

"HE?" Who was 'HE'!

Chuckling filled the air, and a dark look came over the boy's face as he looked over the woman's fretting form. "You... You were never supposed to last this long; that's the truth. You should have died long ago. As for the rest... I think all of you deserve to see that, don't you?" he said somewhat louder, Seto looking back with wide eyes.

'All'? A door had appeared in the darkness... It had opened just a crack right as Noa said those words in fact, and as two figures stepped out she quickly made to shield her voice and tone from those before her. "H- Yugi!" she shouted in surprise, watching the worried boy run forward.

"Kaiba-san!" the boy shouted, hurrying toward the woman with something tightly gripped in his hands. "We thought you might have come this way! We've been looking for you," he continued, "And-"

"Kaiba," Anzu continued, swallowing somewhat nervously as she gripped her staff and stood to the sides. "There's... There's something you need to see..." Something she needed to-

The woman narrowed her eyes, before looking down as Yugi held out a picture out toward her. "Kaiba-san, we found this in another area of the world here... I'm not sure completely," he continued quietly, "But is that man-"

"Gozaburo," the woman hissed, taking the frame with narrowed eyes as she looked over the man's form. A younger version, and dare she say possibly less bitter about whatever it was that so caused him to scowl all the time she knew him. "And beside him..." Seto turned, wide eyes looking to Noa as the boy smirked, the couch and Mokuba both vanished from sight while her back was turned. "You... How can this-"

"How about we watch a short video?" the boy said cheerfully, eyes narrowed with mirth as the others frowned. "Watch..!"

' _Who is this..?_ '

The area had melted completely, revealing what looked to be a young boy's bedroom. The walls were oddly sparse despite this, the room kept meticulously clean. No toys littered the ground, no clothes hung out of place. At the side however next to a dog's bed was a computer of sorts, a young boy pulling an image from a printer and staring at it as those watching looked over it themselves. That boy...

Noa.

Identical to his present self in every way, save for a set of pale pajamas in the place of the outfit he wore now. The picture he held in his hands was more alarming however, being the exact pair of 'profile images' that had been taken upon adoption for their health information and schooling. Pictures of herself and Mokuba, age ten and five...

_'That is the one I've chosen for you_ ,' Gozaburo was saying, his face on the screen of the computer in what was obviously a web-cam chat. ' _He looks like you, doesn't he?_ '

The boy nodded, placing the picture at the side of his desk as he stared to it. ' _Exactly like me_ ,' he stated after a moment, before looking to the man in silence.

' _And he's just as smart; possibly smarter than you. So how about it... Care for a challenge, before we put the process underway_?' the man asked, Noa seeming to perk up immediately as the dog at the side yawned.

' _Of course,_ ' he responded, Seto momentarily frowning as the 'process' was mentioned. ' _Of course!_ '

' _Good! Prove to me you surpass him... And not only will your wish to come home be granted,_ ' he said cryptically, the boy's eyes widening with anticipation, ' _But you'll get to meet your new little brother..._ '

A brother?

' _Ah... The baby that Kaa-chan was going to have?_ ' he asked, grin widening further. There was a slight grimace in Gozaburo's expression with those words she noted, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. A wince, but nonetheless the man nodded in agreement.

_'Exactly_ ,' he told him. _'Exactly._ '

There was a small bit of silence, and Noa's expression as well seemed to fall somewhat as he studied his father's face. ' _I see. ...Thank you... Tou-chan..._ ' Tou...

The video cut off, faces falling in shock as the last word rang over the air. "E-EHH!?" Anzu remarked with a shout, the scene melting into space as they turned on Noa with wide eyes. "T-TOU-CHAN?"

"What..? What is this..!"

Noa smirked, hands stowed in his pockets as the three continued to pale and sputter with confusion. "Hnhnhnhn... I told you already; this is the 'truth'. My name is Kaiba Noa," the boy said coldly, "First and only son to Kaiba Gozaburo. My father... He wanted to make sure I was up to par in my studies," he explained, shaking his head. "Wanted to test me, challenge me to prove I was worthy of returning to him... So he took you in," the boy continued, looking up to the woman somewhat darkly. "You who resembled me in every way... Of course," he trailed off, shaking his head, "I would imagine things changed sometime after 'that day'..."

'That' day..?

"What day?" the others were muttering, Seto narrowing her eyes as she herself asked the question in her mind. "What day is he talking about?" Anzu whispered, "I don't understand..."

Yugi as well frowned, the boy before them sighing as he shook his head.

"Oh don't bother asking," Noa chuckled, arms crossed as he hovered before them. "This one's managed to forget all about it... A pity that. Because you've always been the 'Back Up'," he sneered, a wicked grin on his face as he began to laugh. "The 'Fail-Safe', the 'Last Resort'... And if you hadn't have killed my father before I could prove myself you wouldn't even exist!" Killed-

That again? Seto continued to stand in tense silence, narrowing her eyes. "Then... The reason we're here," Yugi said with a swallow, the tallest of the three merely frozen at the moment, "The reason you pulled us in..."

"Exactly! I'm going to prove myself the better of us," Noa announced, "Once and for all... And while I'm at it," he chuckled, narrowing his eyes, "I'll be getting myself reacquainted with those of the 'real world' to prepare for my 'prize'..." Wh...

This...

All of this...

"Impossible," Seto hissed, eyes wide as she regained her voice in the face of all that was occurring. "This is NONSENSE! Even if this was true, and you were set up in some sort of 'challenge'," the woman snarled, "There's no way you could possibly be related to him, in any way!"

"And here we go again," the boy muttered, rolling his eyes. "Here they told me you were smart... Now just why would you say-..." He paused, a sudden 'click' echoing about them. "Hnnn..." A shimmer of light appeared in the air, a small boy appearing to Noa's side as the taller of the two turned.

"Wh... Who's that?" Anzu muttered, frowning as the boy stood with a blank expression in place, white clothes nearly blending in with his skin. "Who-"

"Noa-sama," the boy said blandly, his creator turning with a frown as the child's white wings folded in. "Subjects Jonouchi Katsuya, Kawai Shizuka, Otogi Ryuuji, and Betas 01 and 02 are each under fire from the defeated members of the 'Big 5'. Are there any actions you wish for me to take?" he asked, Noa merely gritting his teeth as the child explained the brief situation.

"Hn! Such a pain," he muttered, the others frowning as boy scowled and looked back. "Well! It looks as though I have other things to deal with... Seto," he said with a smirk, looking to the woman as she gripped her blade tight. "We'll be speaking again later it seems... Until then," he continued with a sneer, chuckling darkly, "Safe travels." What...

"Tch... You're not getting away this time!" she hissed, running forward to swing her sword toward the vanishing boy. "NOA-! You aren't- H-" Her next foot fell forward completely as screams cut through the air, wind rushing past her as darkness surrounded both herself and the others behind her. "Gh- Damn it..! NOAAAA!"

"W-WHERE DOES THIS THING EVEN GO!" a panicked woman behind her screeched, Anzu barely gripping her staff as they fell.

"I don't know!" her friend responded loudly, shaking his head. "I-"

Yugi's voice cut off as darkness shrouded him from view, a panicked scream coming from Anzu as they fell. "H-Hah... Y-Yugi?!" she shouted, eyes wide as empty space met her instead of warm violet eyes. "YU-"

The woman as well was cut off, her own form enveloped in black as Seto grit her teeth. Tch...

So she was next was she? Darkness closed in toward her, and as she continued to scowl she nodded. Fine then.

"Bring it on," she spat, gripping her sword as more darkness covered her vision. "Noa."

And the world went black, her thoughts ending right there.

* * *

"Anyone see a sign for a hotel?" the snake on the side of the trailer asked as they fled the charging monsters behind them, a majority of the others turning from their posts as Ren made his odd request.

It was really bad enough that Shizuka's only effective 'offensive' spell was too powerful for her to cast more than once. And also upsetting enough that Otogi's own attacks did next to nothing from a distance, particularly compared to that 'Wemko Bombard' Shizuka had blasted toward the opponents.

But he could really live without these weird comments the snake seemed to pull out of his hat. "A hotel?" Honda repeated, 'mouth' still pulled back from where he'd been firing lasers of sorts out the back of the trailer. "We're running for our lives and you look for a hotel?"

The snake rolled its eyes, sighing as it collapsed back on the cushion. "Hn! You guys have no music tastes... This is the last time I try joking around with you guys."

Hahaha, of course... Something they'd never heard of. "Hn... Well if y' see one anyway lemme know," Katsuya muttered from the front, hurriedly swerving to the right to avoid a blast of ice from Otaki's whip, "Could use th' sign f'r cover..!"

"Hnng... I'm sorry I can't do more than defend," Shizuka said with a wince, another shouted 'steel guard' blocking an attack from hitting as Otogi busied himself by hurling throwing knives at the beast. "I know that when I fired that 'Bombard' attack it looked good but..."

"Hey, don' be sorry," her brother responded proudly, "You're savin' all our asses here..."

"What we should be sorry about is not having anything for a decent long range attack," Otogi added in response, yet another wave of knives falling just short the distance their opponent's were at. "Tch... This is a real pain," he hissed with narrow eyes. Yeah...

Tell him about it... "Well there's got to be something here," Ren hissed, slithering behind Honda as the dog again paused his 'firing' to speak.

"Define something," he snorted, 'mouth' closing only somewhat as the serpent stared. "Because as I recall, you're more useless than me."

"Nice way to insult yourself there Honda," his friend called from the top, the dog nodding.

"Thank- WAIIIIIIT-"

Ren again rolled his eyes, sliding up to one of the turret looking devices on the side of the truck. "I'm just saying; these look like guns," he said with a frown, "So you'd think they'd be guns! You guys didn't even try using them though!"

"Well in that case," the dog retorted, returning to his firing, "Let us know when you can aim one snake-boy."

At this the snake gave a rather childish hiss, blowing his tongue out at the dog."Hn! As a matter of fact," he shouted somewhat angrily, wrapping around one of the handles as he pulled back, "I think I-"

_-BROUM!_

The snake jumped as a shudder passed through the air, the bullet fired forming an enormous hole in the highway as Katsuya screamed. "A- AHH-AAAAA-AAAHH! What th hell!" The truck rumbled and clattered about as they were driven off road, the blond looking back with wide eyes before turning back to pay attention to the rock-littered desert about them. "H-Hah..! Jus' what w's that!"

The others said nothing, instead momentarily turning to the turret Ren had before scrambling for them as Shizuka held the defense.

"Of course!" Otogi shouted in aggravation, pulling on and aiming it toward the opponents as he stood along and almost outside the truck, "Now they work!"

Ren seemed to beam with those words, shaking his head smugly as he grinned. "Well! You can all thank me la-"

"Move," Honda barked, pushing past the serpent.

"A- What the- You don't even have thumbs!" he protested, "How are you-"

The snake cut himself short as the handles were gripped in a few of the feelers from Honda's neck, looking decidedly nauseous about the entire deal as he stared. "You were saying?" the dog said smugly, Ren giving an involuntary shudder as he backed away and listened to the bullets released toward their opponents.

"Hihhhhhhh that's never leaving my head," he muttered, curling on the bench with a swallow. "Never..."

_-BROUM!_

Another rumble charged through the air, shudders passing through the ground as Otogi and Honda both fired as much as possible at their opponent in retaliation. It mattered little what they did after all- regardless of what they chose, the opponent would continue his attack.

"Gh... Nihan!" Shizuka was shouting from behind, the monsters following them seemingly unaffected by whatever they threw toward forward, "I can't last much longer..!" Gh...

"Jus' a little more!" he assured the girl, spinning the wheel rapidly as one of Daimon's 'Thunder Shot's destroyed the ground ahead of them. "Jus' a lil' more," he shouted with a swallow, "We'll be all-"

"THUNDER SHOT!"

Shit.

The explosion that occurred likely happened when the attack struck the place directly in front of the truck. The resulting charge overpowered the machine, sending smoke every which way as the power forced their vehicle upward, screams coming from those inside as the truck toppled to the ground and tossed its passengers violently about.

"Gh- GHHAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Y-RO _UUUUUU-R_!" The truck came to a rest, skidding along the ground...

And all about them dust filled the air, coughing coming shortly afterwards as stones fell around them in a sort of twisted rain.

"Gh... Kah... Kah! O... Otogi!" Katsuya shouted, the teen and Honda both having been knocked up into the air under the strike on the truck. "Otogi, Shizuka... Honda! Are you... Are you..."

"I'm fine," Otogi wheezed from a distance, slowly pulling himself from the ground with a cough before sending them a thumbs up. Despite the clear shock he had in falling from so far he seemed relatively fine, grabbing a nearby rock for support. "Hah... It's just a bruise," he continued, before looking to the side. "...Shizuka..?"

"F-Fine," she responded with a wince, climbing out of the trailer with her spear in hand. "I'm-"

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." The five shuddered as they looked up, Ren scurrying around Shizuka's ankle as the four monsters slowly approached. Daimon was the first, the Psycho Shocker landing to the ground to tower above them as he walked forward. "Now... Which one should I take?" he 'wondered' aloud, chuckling darkly in response to the nervous looks he received from the siblings and 'pets'. "I could take one of you boys of course," he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the blond. "But then there's the girl..."

"Ah- W-WHAT? But you guys 'r all... Well, GUYS!" Katsuya shouted incredulously, shaking his head in confusion. "What th' hell!"

"Trust me," Ren laughed, before collapsing with a groan. "This could be wor-"

"Gh- Daimon!" a second voice snarled, a penguin running up to the man with narrowed eyes. "I saw her first damn it! The young girl is mine!" he squawked, barely coming to the cyborg's knees, "MIIIIIINE!"

"I take that back," the snake muttered, hiding back around Shizuka's ankle. Daimon turned on 'Otaki', expression unseen thanks to the lenses and respirator.

"Hn! I thought you were taking the other woman," he sneered, the penguin showing no more response than rage as he spoke.

"That's right! All the girls are mine!" he retorted, before finding himself getting strangled by the man as he squawked. "G-GLK!"

"You moron... Just how the hell do you think that would work?" Daimon hissed, the penguin merely continuing to flail.

"I'd MAKE it work!"

"You-"

"What's wrong with the both of you idiots!" Oshita spat, the fishman stepping forward. Otaki was thrown to the 'group' by a silent and towering 'Judgeman' Oka in the meantime, the remaining of the four turning as Otaki wheezed. "Fighting right now... We don't have time for that kind of idiocy!"

"Ah- But, Oshita-"

"I said no," the old man sneered, cutting Otaki off and pointing to the three humans as their 'pets' glared. "Now take a body and go," he continued hurriedly, "We can pick up the fourth on our way out before Noa-"

Blinding light suddenly pierced the sky, those on the ground looking up in shock as two figures in white appeared. One resembled a girl, one he recognized that had no name... And the other...

"Gh- Seraph!" Katsuya hissed, eyes wide as Ren looked up himself.

"Eh... W-Who are..."

"OH! It's the girl I saw when I woke up!" came a surprised bark, the sentence ended with a fairly high-pitched 'aru!'. Briefly the blond turned, frowning. Honda knew the girl?

...Probably not important right now.

The two programs looked down, expressions blank enough to almost appear disappointed in the ones below. "Daimon Kogoro, Chikuzen Oka," the boy began, the Judgeman and Psycho Shocker both swallowing.

"...Shuzo Otaki, Konosuke Oshita," the girl continued, the others staring in unease as the duo continued. "All four of you are in violation of the agreements made with Kaiba Noa-sama in regards to your possible 'escape'," she said clearly, a number of the crowd gawking at the words.

"K-Kaiba!"

"Hang on," Honda yelped, shaking his head, "They're related-aru!"

A short span of silence came with that, Otogi narrowing his eyes in slight confusion for a moment. "...Actually," he muttered, "This explains a lot..."

There was no response to that, though Shizuka soon turned as she realized her brother was still silent. "Nihan," she said somewhat confusedly, "You don't seem surprised..."

Katsuya swallowed, choosing to not answer to the statement. "I'll explain later," he muttered after a few seconds, backing up against the capsized truck as he gripped his staff. "For now, I gotta bad feelin' abou' this..."

_As you should_ , he thought he heard someone say, Noa appearing between his two programs with that very thought.

"N... Noa-sama," Daimon sputtered, stepping back from the humans he'd cornered as the light-haired boy narrowed his eyes from above. "We-"

"Will be speaking about this elsewhere," the boy said coldly, gesturing to his programs as both they and the monsters vanished without warning, the only signal to their leave being two bows from both children. "Now then," he continued, crossing his arms in thought. "You five..."

The 'five' in question tensed, looking up as Noa smirked. "N... Noa," Katsuya hissed, gritting his teeth. Just what did he want now?

"Hnhnhnhn... You lot should be thankful," the boy said with a grin, apparently amused by the agitation in the air. "I just saved all your lives... That puts you in my debt, doesn't it?" he asked, the smirk growing sinister. Debt?

"Gh- Seein' how you tried t' kill us first," he snarled without thought, "I'm sayin' hell no!"

"Yeah!" Honda shouted up in agreement, Noa having briefly appeared to consider saying something before being cut off. "I don't even have a body anymore now! Hell, what IS this thing anyways-aru?" he called up, mouth open and 'flailing' as the others stared uncomfortably. The flaps stiffened to the sides, teeth facing forward on twisted mouth roofs and bottoms as the now tongue-like wires flailed through the air. "What kind of twisted freak are you-aru, sticking me in this thing!"

Noa appeared to stare with slight surprise at the dog's head, blinking a few times in what looked to be honest shock. "Ohh... Well that's interesting," he muttered, receiving a snarled growl in response. "I told her to up the 'threat level' in your programming," the boy continued quietly, "But I hardly expected this..."

"A- PROGRAMMING!?" the dog snarled, hurriedly snatched up by Shizuka as he scrambled to find someway up. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, PROGRAMMING!"

The boy again gained a nasty smirk, chuckling as he began to fade in the desert air amid the passing breeze. "Hnhnhnhnhn... You'll find out eventually... I'll have to congratulate Kisara though," he continued, a menacing gleam appearing in the boy's eyes. "Despite being almost entirely incomplete, you're quite the diamond in the rough..."

"H-Hey," Honda muttered nervously, a slight whine escaping him as his mouth closed. "Stop talking about me like that-aru..."

"Yeah," Ren added from Shizuka's ankles, "You'll make him blush."

"WHY YOU-"

"HnhnHAHAHAHA!" Mad cackling tore their attention back to the sky, Noa shaking his head as the attentions of those below were pulled upward yet again. "Hnhnhnhn... How amusing..! I might just let you leave simply because of this!" Yeah, because they wanted to be permanent sources of comedy right? "Hnhnhn... Your game is hardly over yet though," the nearly transparent boy warned, narrowing his eyes as a door appeared far past him in the distance sands. "But I think I'll leave it at that... For now," the boy finished, finally fading from sight completely, "I have a few things to deal with... Ja-ne..." Gh...

Hihhhhh... Katsuya gave a shudder as the small boy vanished, the others shaking their heads in variant forms of unease in attempts to resume some form of normalcy in the already bizarre realm. "What a creepy kid," Otogi muttered, Ren nodding in agreement as Shizuka pulled both he and Honda up in her arms with a small frown.

"At least the 'Big 5' are gone," she said quietly, before turning as a shout came from by the door.

"Heeeey! GUYS!" Ah...

That was..!

The others followed Shizuka's gaze, eyes wide as a familiar if not oddly coloured head of hair came into view. "GUYS!" the 'normal' Yugi shouted, running forward as the others followed behind him at a walk. "Guys," he repeated, "Are you alright?"

"Ah- Yugi!" Katsuya responded with a grin, the usual waist tackle coming after a moment before he answered the hug with a noogie and a laugh. "Hah! Y' made it!"

Anzu as well ran over, Ren and Shizuka both coming over with a smile as the serpent slithered out from the younger woman's arm. "Maaan! Took you long enough!" the snake cheered, 'hopping' onto Anzu's arm before coiling into a comfortable position on her shoulder. "It's just not the same on a trailer bench..!"

The woman rolled her eyes in response to that, before looking to Shizuka and studying her expression a moment. The girl hid most of her unease well. Most, being the key word of course. "Hey... Are you all doing alright?" she asked optimistically, both the girl and the dog nodding in response.

"Yeah... We're fine," she said confidently, a small smile on her face as she again nodded. "Just a little shaken," the girl continued as a knowing nod was received in response.

"Heh... But besides that," Honda laughed, "We're better than ever-aru! Like my new look?" he added with a grin, his friend shaking her head with a slight laugh.

"Very cute," she answered, the puppy's fur bristling in response. "Nice to see your voice matches the face."

"Gh- Voice? And I don't look 'cute'!" the dog snarled, "Why does everyone keep saying that!"

As arguments and reunions continued Katsuya and Yugi looked back toward the exit of the door, where Seto was slowly making her way forward with a mostly hidden expression of thought. There was something in her hands... A picture frame he noted, walking over with his friend as he waved.

"...Oii... S... Kaiba!" he called out somewhat, receiving no answer as Yugi pressed on with the conversation.

"...Kaiba-san," he began, the others turning their heads to tune in on whatever it was going on. "...You said that Noa couldn't be Gozaburo's son but... Why?" he asked, the woman giving a blank and agitated glare in response as she tossed him the picture. The somewhat glassy image was clearly visible to the others, light-haired boy standing beside the black-haired form of a younger Gozaburo.

"How old would you say he is in that photo?" Seto asked plainly, the others leaning over to stare closer at the image.

"...He's the same age he is now," Shizuka responded, before her frown was hurriedly replaced with shock. "Ah- But didn't that man have grey hair at the city? Hair takes at least a few years to go from black to completely grey..."

There was no response concerning Gozaburo's appearance on the field 'hours' before, Seto merely nodding as she narrowed her eyes. "That's right," she said plainly, a slight scowl on her face. "That picture was taken before my time, by at least six years and possibly more."

"But then Noa hasn't gotten any older at all," Otogi muttered, narrowing his eyes. "And that would mean..." That would mean something very bad...

" _...You know something of this, don't you_ ," the spirit in his mind hissed with those thoughts, Katsuya staring as the others muttered comments of confusion. " _You knew something about this boy, before we even got here..._ "

Yes, he thought with a slight grimace, yes he did...

"What on earth does this all mean?" Anzu was muttering, crossing her arms. "If he hasn't aged-"

" _Noa's dead_ ," he said bluntly, the others turning as he looked away awkwardly. " _...He died almos' twelve years 'go,_ " he added, biting his lip.

It was probably with that line that his hole really started getting deeper.

* * *

"You five truly are sad pieces of work," Noa snarled, pacing around the darkness of space as his pawns each stood before him. Each of them were on their knees, having fallen from some immeasurable height within the dark to reach this point, and as they slowly recovered the boy continued. "I give you chances of life with clearly specific conditions, you agree, and then the moment you lose you decide to go around behind my back and 'try again'... Now I wonder how that should make me feel?" he muttered darkly, the four 'adults' of the five each tensing as Ota stood off to the side in mild amusement. "After all... Ota at least had the decency to win before he pulled any of that," he spat, the 'teen' wincing somewhat at the comment.

"Ota-" The four turned, each one scowling as the now teen smirked from the side.

"Hn! Nice to see you're getting used to your body," Oshita growled, receiving a wider grin in response.

"Well, it's my right isn't it?" he 'asked', narrowing his eyes with mirth. "I beat the owner of this body," he continued, "Therefore, it's mine to keep..."

The men tensed, Otaki in particular shaking. "Nggh... But you still lost your match!" he moaned, slamming the cane in his hands on the ground as he stood to his feet. "It's not fair at all!"

"That's right!" Daimon snarled, pointing an accusing finger forward at the smirking teen. "We fight against real opponents, while you take down some poor beginner so you can see your so-called family?"

Ota narrowed his eyes, turning on the men as Noa watched in slight amusement. "Please," the man spat darkly, "At least I have one." The teen continued to glare at his partners, crossing his arms as he went on. "Besides... While I might now be only a year or so older than them, I still won quite fairly; the deal was to defeat a single person to get their body," he argued, "Not win a complete match!" Hnn...

And now this was getting boring... "Gh- It was supposed to be with duels in mind though," Oshita hissed, unaware of the annoyance increasing on his 'employer's part. "Not-"

"SILENCE!" The men tensed, each turning toward their 'boss' as the boy stared down almost apathetically. "You've convinced me," he stated calmly, the four of the five brightening considerably as Noa went on. "I'll give you another chance. Your goal," the boy told them as a screen hovered before them with the information, "Is to defeat Mutou Yugi; he's defeated Seto time and time again after all... So if you five can prove yourselves capable of defeating him," he continued with a smirk, "I'll grant the remaining four of you a body of your choice... As for you Ota," he added, the former technician swallowing nervously as attention was brought to him, "I'll release your mind to the real world without question, rather than forcing you to wait for my own success."

Ota instantly looked up with surprise, a slow nod coming from the teen as he muttered something in thanks. "I... Thank you, Noa-sama," he whispered, bowing his head. "Thank-you!"

"We won't fail you Noa-sama," the others continued, "We'll do our best," they chorused, "We won't disappoint you..."

"Hnhnhnhn... Wait until the duel's end to tell me that," Noa said with a smirk, beginning to fade away as he stepped back. "Now... I'll give you five minutes to sort out your tactics... After that... Good luck."

* * *

He supposed for the moment, that simply coming out and saying 'Noa's dead' was probably not the best way to start this conversation looking back on the two seconds prior.

At all, really.

"...Repeat that," Seto said almost coldly in response to Katsuya's words, the blond clenching his staff tightly as he made to explain.

"I... On Chris'm's," he began, looking back to his friends with a deep breath, "When I w's decoratin' th' house w' Hobson, I had t' help feed th' horses. One w's th' one that y' never took," he said with a nervous swallow, "Th' 'mad' one... An' it b'longed t' Noa when he w's alive. I... I don' get everythin'," he continued, shaking his head and looking at the ground as he attempted to think of how else to explain, "But s'pposedly if this kid was alive he'd be 21, 22 by now," he muttered, "And... ...Hah..."

The blond sighed, cutting himself off as the others looked from him to Seto to gauge the woman's response. For the moment, she wasn't saying anything... Merely staring at him with an odd expression on her face, eyes narrowed and twitching, as though the woman were debating whether or not to say something.

Finally however she moved to leave, walking around Yugi and Katsuya both with narrowed eyes as the others stared. "A- Kaiba-san!" Yugi called out, turning around as the woman walked off. "Kaiba-san," he repeated, "Wait-!"

"..." The woman paused, both boys continuing forward as she frowned. "...What do you want?" Seto stated somewhat coldly, Katsuya moving forward to stand in her way as she glared.

"Well I'm jus' wonderin' why y' suddenly wanted t' leave once I mentioned I knew who Noa was, tha's all... He's got Mokuba righ'?" he asked seriously, the woman giving no answer as he frowned. "So I'm guessin' yer goin' after 'm again then, jus' like las' time," he continued, hands outstretched in a 'wall' gesture.

The woman narrowed her eyes, distaste evident on her face as she looked over the teen. "Get to the point," she growled, the blond crossing his arms as he did so.

"You wanna help Mokuba." he stated almost obviously, "An' so do we. He might not be my brother," the blond continued, jabbing a thumb to himself in gesture, "But he's th' closest thing t' one I've got."

"Not to mention," Anzu added, the others walking up to stand behind Seto as well, "He's our friend. We were all brought here as well," she continued with a frown, "And not just you... You can't say that we aren't involved, and that we have to 'butt out' of this!"

Seto scoffed in reply to that, looking back with a fairly intense glare. "Then it looks as though you're about to be disappointed," she muttered, adjusting the grip of the sword still in her hand before again stepping forward to leave. "Because that's exactly what I'm saying now."

"Really now?" Anzu's partner asked dryly, Seto giving little reaction to the presence of a talking snake. "And just where are you going to go then?," Ren asked.

"None of your business," she responded, pushing past Katsuya as she continued her way forward. "Now leave me alone." Damn it...

"Tch- Jus' let us help y' already!" Katsuya shouted, gritting his teeth as the woman again turned her head back to leer at the blond. "Jus' stop actin' like an idiot an' let us help!"

"Yes, because that will convince him," Otogi muttered under his breath, Honda looking up from Shizuka's arms.

"Eh... He's done things for worse from what I heard," he commented, friend turning with wide eyes.

"Really..?" Hahhhh...

Not now damn it! As Seto stared Katsuya took another step forward, a look of determination on his face as he continued his attempts to make the woman stay. "S... Kaiba," he called out, a small breeze blowing through the dusty highway. "C'mon... Jus' this once! I won' ask again after this, I swear!"

"Hn! As though I would believe that," she snorted, moving to walk away yet again as a breeze blew over the lonely desert road. "Besides... You have other problems," the woman called out, pointing her sword to the side as they turned. ...Other...

Problems..?

As dark chuckling came over the air they looked up, swallowing nervously. Above on the cliffs it seemed there was a shadow. A tall, familiar shadow of a friend whose body was no longer his own, a distraction that proved more than enough for Seto to make her leave. And as a series of monsters appeared around the teen, the crowd had to restrain themselves from charging right there...

Some with less success than others. "Gh... AOUR! _ROUR-ROU-ROU-ROURRRrrr... ROUF! ROUF_!"

"Honda-han," Shizuka cried, ducking back from the flailing wires, "I'm right here..!"

"AH-" The dog coughed, mouth hurriedly closing back up. "Sorry, Shizuka..!"

"Gh... Ota!" Katsuya shouted up, clenching his fists as the teen looked down. "What do you want?"

'Ota' merely smirked, crossing his arms. "Depends; in his case," a less familiar one of the 'Big 5's voices stated, "Probably to visit his little bratty children... In mine," 'Oshita' as the voice seemed to identify, "I'd like to get back to my job and wife. Oka on the other hand has a sister to care for. Otaki," he continued, "A dream, and Daimon a grudge... We're all here!" the voice spat, hurriedly joined in by four other altering tones, "Every last one of us!"

"Gh... They're all in there!" Otogi repeated incredulously, the dog in Shizuka's arms looking as though he was going to have a stroke.

"Bastards... GIVE ME MY BODY BACK ARU!-"

"H-Honda-han," she shouted once more, "Every time you do that, your face-"

"...S-Sorry! I-"

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Chuckling came from the body before them, the Big 5's body narrowing their eyes as the group stared. "As much as we'd love to watch you torment yourselves over this," the body laughed, "We have business to attend to. Mutou Yugi," they shouted fiercely, the boy in question swallowing somewhat nervously. "We, all at once, challenge you to a battle... With the bodies of each of your friends at stake!" they finished, before the expression changed to a lecherous and cruel smirk for a single voice to call out. "Hnhnhnhnhn... And when we win," a somewhat oddly accented form of their friend's voice muttered, tongue running along his lips in a rather frightening gesture, "I'll be taking that mage for myself..."

"Gh-! O- Otaki!" Anzu hissed, the woman tensing as her snake did the same.

"Hihhh... The penguin freak!" he squeaked, drawing back in disgust.

"AuaaAAH!"

"Ah- Freak!?" Otaki hissed, before his tone and expression again switched to something else entirely.

"Hn! An accurate description," chuckled the voice identified as 'Oka', those below holding their heads in confusion as the personalities constantly switched.

"AAAAUGGHHH! My body is not a microphone -ARU!"

At this the others nodded in stony agreement, Yugi swallowing as he stepped forward with narrowed eyes. "You... I accept your challenge," he stated, pulling his boomerang out as he took a more battle ready stance across from the somewhat distant cliff. "But if I win," he continued with a shout, "You have to return Honda-kun's body!"

"...Hmp! Very well then," the Big 5 muttered after a moment of silence, a variety of emotions briefly flashing over the man's face. "That won't be a problem... Now then-"

Katsuya ran up to join his friend's side at that point, cutting the voices above them off as he scowled. "Oi oi oi- b'fore tha', I gotta say something..." The body looked down, narrowing his eyes as the blond continued. "You five are fightin' all at once righ'?" he shouted, staring up as the teen slowly nodded. "Well that ain't exactly fair nyh? Let me fight y' as well, got it?" he demanded, the soon to be opponent seeming to pause in consideration.

"Ah... Jonouchi-kun," Yugi muttered, the others staring as well.

"J-Jonouchi..."

As the rest of the group blinked in slight surprise the blond smirked, looking over to the dog in his sister's arm with a grin. "Hey; it's your body at stake here," he said with a laugh, shaking his head. "I can't jus' sit on th' sidelines righ'?"

"AHHH! Jonouchi..! Thankyouthankyouthank-ar- _Y-rf_!"

A quick thump sounded through the air, Ren frowning from where he sat on the shoulder closest to Shizuka. By all appearances, it looked as though he had smacked the puppy with his tail, and as his tongue flicked in and out Honda growled more than loud enough for the serpent to catch his anger.

Not that he cared of course. "Your crying was getting on my nerves," he said bluntly, the dog at the side breaking into a snarl and a roaring bark.

"G- Why you..!"

"Hnnn..." The 'five' above on the cliff seemed to frown, before a smirk similar to that of his former opponent came into view from those paying attention. "Well," 'Oka' said plainly, the others looking back up as their opponent nodded slowly. "I suppose that's fair... With this," he continued calmly, "It's more similar to a one-on-one match outside the duel after all thanks to that..."

The crowd blinked, narrowed eyes looking up in confusion. One on one...

Well, not counting 'Ren', there would be Otogi, Anzu, Shizuka and Honda remaining but...

"Ah... 'outside'?" he asked almost hesitantly. And that meant..?

Oka grinned, arms crossed as he explained from the cliff's top. "Well... For each player there can be only one deckmaster at a time after all," he chuckled, a finger brushing his nose despite there being nothing there. "And there's five of us here... So while one of us face you," the teen continued with a gesture, "The rest of us will be challenging your friends... In combat only," he said darkly, the crowd swallowing nervously.

Only combat? H-Hey... C.. Come on now... "I... Is tha' ev'n allowed?" he hissed, clenching his fists as the others held back shouts of rage.

"Hnnn... So we'll all be fighting then?" Otogi muttered, knives appearing in his hands. "This might actually help you guys out," he decided with a smirk. "If we knock out one of them in the middle of the fight," the teen offered in defense, "They won't be able to duel properly right?"

"I'd like to think so at least," Ren muttered, hood partially flared in agitation as he stared at the teen above. "But even then..."

"We have one more demand for this duel!" Oka announced, the decided duelists looking up again with narrowed eyes as the crowd continued to listen. "This is a two on one match... Ordinarily all three players would have 4000 life points," he explained calmly, "But against a pair of professionals, that's hardly fair..."

"So what do y' wanna do then," the blond below snorted. "Double yours?"

An odd look appeared in Oka's eyes, and his smirk grew as he pulled out a pair of revolvers from his sides. "As a matter of fact," he announced, skidding down the side of the cliff as the others hopped back to put space between themselves, "I do... Now," the lawyer shouted, snapping his fingers as domes of light swirled into the air. "Pick your cards."

Alright then... It was on!


	15. Ryuuseigun

It seemed that the moment the domes of light spread over the two, the sky had begun to darken about them. The former clouded mid-day scene slowly shifted into dusk, the field encased in a dull grey, and as the clouds set in from above it was impossible to tell them from a clear twilit sky. It was an isolating feeling, and though all seven of them stood before the body of their friend it seemed almost as though those two domes separated them from everything as the darkness came over them, even though it was only for a moment.

The cliffs 'disappeared', spreading out in distance as cards spun about them in a dizzying motion. Spaces between each person extended somewhat, and soon enough the field began to clear. As he moved across the screens of cards to form a deck that would help him with the fight on the terrain, he found himself picking cards both from his own deck and that of his friends. His friends...

In the real world, where Malik's other side was still wreaking havoc. Back out there...

" _...Three hours,_ " the spirit in his mind muttered this time, when the question of how long it had really been again came to mind. " _It's been three hours_ ," he repeated, the blond mentally nodding as he put that information in the back of his mind. Three hours.

Which meant that it was now seven AM at the least, and that he had a little over twelve hours left to leave and deal with Malik. Just over twelve hours to either 'defeat' or simply kill the monster, or else she would die.

...Mai...

Fingers brushed against the 'Harpy Queen', and he swallowed as he realized what card now stood before him. Just hang in there he told himself, tapping the card to add it to his deck with a swallow. He'd get her out soon enough...

" _I certainly hope so,_ " his stowaway muttered, the blond not bothering to ask why he cared as the dome around him vanished. After all...

That didn't matter right now.

"We've picked our cards," Yugi said clearly, sand blowing against them as the domes dissipated. The wind-storm around them seemed to increase in ferocity with those words, the distance between each person growing further and further despite the wind never blowing against them with the force to do so. Even the cliffs in the area had remained, seeming to grow closer to form an obstacle course of sorts.

The perfect battle field for someone other than them.

The body before them- now standing a good number of meters away- chuckled, opponents narrowing their eyes. "We're ready to fight... As for our deckmasters," Yugi continued, clothes altering even as his hair blew wildly to mark the switch between personas, "I choose the Dark Magician."

"An' I'm pickin' th' Flame Swordsman," his friend added, cloak regaining the same flamed appearance as before while the other Yugi's own clothes became both skin-tight and 'lengthened' in appearance to mimic that of his monsters. "So who we fightin' first?"

The teen across from them again chuckled, somewhat faded vest replacing with fine-blue scales as a suit of similar texture appeared over him. Eyes shifted and coated themselves in red, not a single pupil or iris visible on the sclera. "Oshita," Yugi hissed, shifting the grip on his weapon with a swallow as he unfolded the device for the three blades to shimmer in the light. "Be sure not to attack this one when he has two or more monsters," he whispered, his partner nodding in response.

"Got y'," he responded, taking a step back as he prepared his staff for the fight. Red eyes were facing them now as Oshita as well took a fighting stance, a pair of harpoons seemingly latched to his wrists by means of a pair of 'cannons'.

_'Be careful_!' the others were shouting, each of those behind them looking for where their own opponents would strike from, ' _What ever you do_ ,' they continued loudly, ' _Don't lose... We're counting on you!_ '

Briefly Katsuya looked back, giving the others a thumbs up as he smirked. 'Don't lose'... As if he would! "Hehehe... Don' worry!" he called out, the others briefly turning their attentions to the blond. "You'll have yer body back in jus' a bit Honda!"

"AHH! Th-Thank you-aru!" The dog gave a cheerful yelp from where it stood, mouth managing to keep closed despite the volume of his voice. "Do your best-aru! And try not to hurt my body-aru!" Er. That one would be a little hard but...

The blond nodded nonetheless, before a snort from the side caught his attention. "Heh! You lot are far too confident for your own good," Oshita chuckled, crossing his arms as a sneer came over his face. "We haven't even begun yet!"

"Then why not start now?" asked Yugi, narrowing his eyes as their opponent grinned. There was no further response to the comment, but as a sudden 'crack' passed through the air Katsuya had to frown. A rumbling noise was moving through the air, slowly growing louder as the earth as well began to shake. Sand was bouncing off the ground, along with pebbles...

Even he was bouncing off the ground he realized with a swallow, looking toward his opponent with wide eyes. "Er... Yugi?" the blond said with a swallow, his friend as well paling as the source made itself clear. "I think it has!" he continued somewhat loudly, before a geyser rose up in the far distance to cement the theory in place. "Hell I think it started a while ago! YUGI, RUN!" he roared, turning tail as the torrent of water towered to block the sun and moon before crushing forward. The sound of water pounded out their shouts, moving forward from the edges of the desert as he continued to scream. "RUN! RU-BL _RRRRBBGGGHHHH_!"

"GLHHHHH-"

"Y-RF!" Water threw the group far down the field, those behind them flying even further as they clattered against the sides of a cliff with all the force of a bullet. Briefly he found himself blacked out, spinning through the waters until his panicked form realized he could still breath. Looking back over his shoulder he could see the others, their faded forms clambering onto an immense plateau. His hearing however, was not as good as his sight beneath the waters...

And as he looked back he could only hope that they did alright, while praying that the now extinguished cloak he lacked didn't affect his fighting. As it was, Oshita's move was quite obviously not finished, with the teen hovering and swimming in place as his opponent identified the first portion of it.

"Tch... 'Umi'," he muttered, voice echoed and garbled amid the waters as he and his partner floated next to each other. "There's no way in hell we c'n fight properly in this," he continued bitterly, "Not 'till we hit th' bottom in any case..."

Yugi nodded, narrowing his eyes as he looked toward the fish-warrior. "Not us, that's for sure... But he'll be right at home in here..." the boy muttered, before their opponent cut him off with a shout.

"Summon the Legendary Fisherman," he announced, the harpoons on his arms seeming to shift and change as he took aim with one of them. "'Weapon' mode!" he finished, blackened tattoos shining over the worn spear head.

W-Weapon form..?

"HAH!"

Without warning the harpoon was launched toward him, the blond's hand of cards coming to mind in an instant as he threw his staff forward. "Gh- Alligat'r Sword!" he announced in panic, the monster literally blasting from the staff's top to block the harpoon with his spear while his summoner dove down toward the sea floor, "D'fense mode!"

"Gazelle!" his partner added with a similar shout as the second harpoon was fired, spear piercing through the seas with remarkable ease. "Also defense!" As the boy was blown back by the force of the attack a spirit-like mist formed before him, a growling lion barely visible from the form. The lion snarled, the roar passing through the seas as its master floated toward the ground, before it shifted into an encompassing mist about the boy. "Ah... This..."

"Must be b'cause it can' breath down here," Katsuya muttered, looking to the mist as his Alligator swam above him. "This shouldn' be a problem though! I took down th's combo b'fore when I fought Kajiki, an' I can do it again!" he snarled, landing with a slight 'thump' on the ground.

Sand misted through the waters as Yugi did the same, the boy having folded his somewhat useless boomerang for the moment. The waters around them were remarkably clear; as the sand 'blew' in the current to sink to the ground he could watch as their opponent retracted the harpoons by means of the cannons themselves, before turning to his friend.

"...Eh..." The blond stared at him a moment, before narrowing his eyes in confusion as Yugi also stared. "Dude... You wearin' goggles..?"

The boy blinked, a pair of goggles indeed positioned on his face as he nodded. "Erm. Yes. I didn't expect to be able to see," he admitted, pushing them up before looking toward their opponent with again clear eyes. Chuckling was filling the air...

But rather than blue and green scales, the one floating above them now was dressed in jet black dress pants and a matching waist coat, adjusting his tie before pulling out a sleek and modern looking hand gun. A switch, he realized. Their opponent had switched while they were talking.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... My turn," the teen sneered, a smirk on his face as rumbling echoed from above to shake even the waters around them. "That girl of yours... She's feisty," the teen chuckled, the others tensing as 'Otaki' revealed himself to the pair. "I can't wait to take her as my own!"

"Gh... Otaki..!" 'Take her'? Did... What did he mean, her body?! "What's wrong with this man?" Yugi muttered with a somewhat nauseated tone, going a little green as their opponent continued to cackle. A sneer of impossible proportions came over his face, the teen pointing his weapons forward and pulling back the safety as he prepared to attack.

"HN! What's wrong with 'you' more like! It's my turn... FROST BULLET," he announced, a shot of ice in the shape of a penguin-like torpedo blasting forward as Katsuya ducked. A water trail was visible in the wake of the bullet, the blond barely catching it off the side of his staff as he clipped it off track before looking back to the 'penguin'. "Heh... And while that happens," he continued with a laugh, holding out the second weapon to aim at Yugi as the boy tensed, "Legendary Fisherman attacks!"

As the next gun fired a ghost seemed to appear around the bullet, resembling a larger form of the very torpedo that had almost struck him down. Yugi's defense 'monster' swirled before the bullet in a violent whirlpool to banish it from sight, a howling cry echoing from far behind them as mad laughter and explosions followed. "GH..."

"Somethin' bad's goin' on up there..." Katsuya swallowed nervously, the voice of his opponent pulling him back to attention as he stiffened.

"Hehehehehe... Of course," Otaki continued darkly, the boys looking back up as sands arose below him, "I'm not done. I summon the Catapult Turtle in defense mode," he announced, gesturing below him from the calm and hovering stance he held. From the sands below rose the great steel monster, mouth dropping open to release a croaking roar as bubbles escaped from its cracks. "End turn!" Hn!

And of course between Otaki's water power up and the effect of Umi... "We gotta do somethin' abou' this card," Katsuya hissed, his friend nodding in agreement as they looked toward the turtle. "F'r now though!" he continued at a louder tone, silently assuring himself of the advantage in using the cards of his friends, "Another monster... Th' Harpy Queen!" he announced loudly, sand and water seemingly shooting up from behind him as a screech tore through the air. "In addition," he continued, unable to see where the feathered woman had appeared, "I'm switchin' th' Alligator Sword t' attack mode, an settin' a card!" the blond shouted, looking to his friend whilst the sheet of glass came to his side. "Now... Your turn Yugi!"

"Got it," he responded, hand outstretched as a white and ethereal mist rose up from the sands at his feet. "I summon the Holy Elf in defense mode," he called out, the mist swirling into a ring, "End my turn!"

"Hn! Is that all you can do?" Otaki laughed, professional appearance ruined by the expression on his face. The obnoxious laughter continued, both opponents tensing as they prepared to set their plan into motion. "Well! Then I'll attack again!" he announced, kicking off in the water as he swung his weapon forward to grin. "ATTACK THE ELF," Otaki roared, "FROST BULLE-"

"Kunai with chain!" Katsuya roared, sending his staff forward as the glass before him shattered in response to the shout. The chain and blade spun forward in an instant, the blond narrowing his eyes as it closed on their target. "Hn! You guys wanna fight... Try not f'rgettin' that I'm yer opponen' too!"

"You-" Otaki's words were cut short as the blade connected, chain swirling to pull his arms close and lock them into place. "G-GYAAAAAAAAHHHG!" The penguin inspired fighter howled as the blade dug into his stomach beneath the chain's force, blood seeping out and mixing through the water as the blond below him winced. Sorry Honda...

But this...

"GH... You... You would actually harm the body of your friend?" the monster hissed, kicking in the waters as he looked to his opponent, "You would do this to the people you so care about?"

" _Well_ ," his stowaway muttered, Katsuya finishing for him with narrowed eyes as he looked to the teen calmly.

"This ain' Honda's real body... Is it?" As the teen's gold and orange eyes widened, chain wrapping even tighter around his body Katsuya pulled the chain taught, forcing anther scream and wave of blood as their victim choked and snarled.

"GH! Fine!" he spat, breathing laboredly as blood escaped from his now punctured lungs. "I set a monster and end my turn," he snarled, sheet of glass hovering at his side. "Now... YOUR MOVE!"

* * *

As the waters blew them back it was difficult to really feel everything around them. The pressuring waters stung fiercely, but all the same numbed any sensations of true pain until the moment they struck the stone cliffs at the side. And when those cliffs were hit...

Well they were hit hard she thought as the stone pounded against her back. "GH!"

"Rerf!" came a yelping cry, followed by the mutterings of the lone human male of the group.

"Kh... Shit..." As the group pulled themselves above the waters with coughs, the seas continued to rage, Shizuka looking back as she pulled herself further up the cliff by her spear. The water was clouded at the surface, with the vicious winds and storms not helping to clear it at all. She couldn't see beyond the first two feet let alone to the bottom, leaving her with no way to tell how her brother was doing.

Even so she told herself, looking back with a nervous swallow as she and the others steadied themselves, that probably wasn't the problem right now. In fact had it not been for the fact that one of them happened to climb in just the right direction, nothing would have mattered.

"Ohhhh fuck," Otogi hissed, a blast fired from the first of their four opponents as they scattered across the plateau to cover each possible escape angle. "RUN FOR IT!"

"Righ- _Gh_!" Burns scattered across her side as clouds of dust filled the air, Daimon's ' _WILDFIRE_ ' attack blazing through the sky as the girl tripped over a nearby rock. Stones blew up against her face, scratching her arms and cheek as the cuts became covered in ash. Hngg... "GHAH-hh!"

"Aorf..! Shizuka!" Honda called out from the side, the puppy having somehow managed to get himself cornered by Oka just seconds after fleeing from the flaming strike. "Are you alright-aru? I-"

A second rumble hit the air as a gavel swung down on the ground, Honda yelping as he narrowly dodged the strike. "Watch yourself!" the judgeman roared, swinging his gavel toward the dog once more as it leaped out of the way to snarl.

"Tch- ASSAULT MODE-ARU!" Honda's 'robotic' side announced, his opponent momentarily freezing as the dog's mouth opened to reveal flailing filaments and a bright light at the end of a small speaker. "ENERGY SHOT-ARU!"

"En- Tch! REBOUND!" the demon countered, weapon glowing with power as he skipped back to increase the distance between himself and his opponent. As though simply playing ping-pong the giant swung his mallet forward, smacking the fired blast back to the puppy as the dog jumped in surprise.

"E-Ehh! Gh- ENERGY SHOT-ARU!" the dog shouted again, wires catching the blast as it returned before sending it back with as much power as had been lost. "Take that, you oversized oni!"

"Rebound," his opponent responded, narrowing his white eyes as the puppy continued to bark and snarl before him. "HN! You really have turned into a dog haven't you?" he asked, a nasty smirk on his face. "Barking the way you are..."

Honda merely growled, tendrils again catching the sphere of electricity to send it back."HN! Energy shot-Aru! And no thanks to you Aru! A-Aourf..? ...AHHH!"

Oka chuckled as the dog began to panic about his uncontrolled verbal tick, swinging his mallet once again as the puppy wailed. "Hn! Rebound!"

"AHHROUF! I didn't notice this before-ARU! Energy shot-aru!" he added, firing the blast back yet again at the last moment as he jumped across the ground to wail. "...AHHHHH GODDAMN IT-ARU!"

"Rebound!" the Judgeman once again countered, all amusement having vanished with the continued game of 'ping-pong'. "STOP SAYING ARU!"

"THEN GIVE MY BODY BACK-ARU! ...ENERGY-SHOT-ARU!"

"AAAAAUUGGGGHH! REBOUND!"

Shizuka smacked her head in her hand as the two continued to fight before her, only to freeze as a shadow hovered above, patiently waiting for her to notice her impending doom. "Ah... ...Uh oh," she muttered with a whisper, turning to scramble to her feet as the Psycho Shocker loomed over head. Otogi was busy, Anzu was busy...

Of course she got this one. "Hn! Thunder Shot," he announced, opponent barely avoiding the attack as she skipped away backwards. H-Haahhh...

The sparking energy scorched the ground where she stood moments before, spear hurriedly brought before her as she countered the attack. "Hng... STONE CHARGE!" she announced, before paling as a mirror-like sheet of glass appeared in the magic's path.

"REFLECT!" Refle-

"HNG-GK!" A sudden stony sensation came over the woman, eyes wide with terror as she was struck by her own spell. Legs locked into place, her spear clattering to the ground as her jaw as well locked shut. Petrified... She was... "H-Hnng... Ngggh..!"

Petrified completely thanks to her own power! Daimon chuckled as the girl struggled to move, unable to even open her mouth as the monster approached with all the patience of the winning opponent. "Hnhnhnhnhn... One down," he said with a sneering tone, "And three to g-"

" _GRAAAAAAOOOO_!"

"Wh-What-!"

A snarling roar cracked through the air, and with a start the Psycho Shocker was knocked off balance. Daimon scarcely kept his footing on the stone cliff as a one horned lion sprang to the womans' defense from literally nowhere. A thundering roar sounded yet again through the air, and as the lion snarled at its new opponent a maddening cackle could be heard from behind her, far into her blind spot. If she could just move...

Stone chipped off her body with those thoughts. As Daimon was momentarily distracted by what was seemingly an invincible lion the girl chanced a look back, eyes widening as she witnessed her friend rising into the air with an expression far unlike any she'd seen.

A wide and sadistic grin, teeth bared in a mix of excitement and rage both. "A-Anzu-cha-"

"HAHAHAHAHAAA!" The woman's eyes were wide and gold in colour, her partner's size unbelievably huge in appearance as its voice mirrored her own. "ASTRAPE!" she roared through the maniacal cackles, the penguin she faced below gaining a panicked look on his face as he tore back from the snarling and electricity coated cobra at the woman's disposal. "Try and make that kind of move on me will you!" the woman snarled with a laugh, staff gripped in white knuckled hands. "GO TO HELL AND DIE YOU PERVERTED PENGUIN!"

It wasn't surprising how many fights paused at those words and laughs. "A-ANZU!?" Honda shouted from the side, his opponent pausing in shock just long enough to give a loud ' _OW, DAMN IT,_ ' as one of the rebunded attacks connected. "A- ...MALIK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER ARU!" he snarled, mouth wide and growls drowned out completely by the laughter above.

Cackling continued to fill through the air as those on the field stared in shock, the penguin giving loud and panicked shouts as it ran from the train-sized serpent. "Switch out!" he roared to seemingly nothing, "Switch out switch out switch out!"

In a shimmer of light the monster did just that, Ren swirling and coiling above the spot he'd vanished as he waited for the second monster to take its place. "Tch..." A blue and green scaled warrior took the penguins place with a scowl, spear in hand as he shook his head. "Really! Just what is it that had that moron so-"

"Hn _hnhnhnhn_..." As Oshita turned to look at the sparking monster in the air, there were no words to be said. Just a scream as Ren's grin grew wider than anything she had ever seen in any nightmare, and as the serpent licked its lips Shizuka was quite certain she would never quite hear such a common phrase the same way ever again. "ITADAKIMASU..."

"Gh- GHRAA _AAAAAAA AAAAAAHHHHH_!" As the snake tossed the fish-man into the air electricity danced over its form, frying the monster into naught but well cooked scales as Ren widened his mouth. The monster easily swallowed the creature's paralyzed form, and as those others on the field turned the serpent's partner grinned and turned her own gaze toward all those before her.

"Hehehehe... Who's next?" she asked threateningly, a loud and inhuman cry coming from the side as Shizuka's attention was pulled back to her own battle- the lion that had come to her aid giving a pained roar as it was finally taken down.

"A-AH! G-Gazelle!" she cried, watching as the lion's head was blown into pieces by Daimon's hand.

The Psycho Shocker snorted, blood streaming from between his fingers along with bits of fur and feather. "Hn..! It looks as though Otaki has proven himself slightly useful," the monster spat, throwing the corpse to the side as it scattered into pixels above the ocean. "But this has taken too long... Time to deal with YOU!" he shouted, the metal disks in his hands charging with power as Shizuka grit her teeth.

"Gh..." Shoot. If she couldn't attack this thing with magic, she'd need to get close... And if she was hit by a single spell at that range then-

The monster across from her continued to approach, before an inhuman screech came through the air, followed by teal feathers and golden claws. "KE _EEEEERRR_!" The woman blinked, eyes widening as yet another monster appeared, this time having sprung from the seas below in a spiral of sand and foam.

"You're KIDDING me!" her opponent roared, before being rather unceremoniously thrown back by the scantily clad harpy that appeared in the air. "GH- Of all the things," he snarled, reaching forward only to miss his shot at the harpy-lady. A...

Another monster..? "Over here," a peaceful voice whispered, Shizuka looking to the side and staring as a young elven woman held out a hand. The holy elf she realized, calm eyes staring to her as the blue-tinged hand was held out in wait. "Come this way..."

"R-Right," she whispered as she took the grip, running off behind the woman to another area of the field as Daimon continued to fire at the incredibly agile bird.

"S _CREEEEEE_!"

"Hold STILL you pathetic little BITCH!" he snarled, quite clearly loosing his patience with the woman. "Hold STILL!"

Hopefully the bird did just the opposite she thought to herself, following her saviour around the various craters and fallen rocks that already littered the ground. "Hah... Hah... Gh... Ah..."

"Hurry," the elf told her, guiding her to a corner of rock, "Over here..."

Over there? "But what's over- AH!" The woman jumped back in shock as bullets blasted across the ground before her, eyes wide as a red blur charged ahead of them. The wind was knocked from her lungs just a split second later as the 'blur' grabbed her arm, pulling her off in a panic as she choked. "O-OTOGI-HAN!"

"Don't talk, just run!" he cried, charging about the field as Ota's Robotic Knight continued to fire its barrage toward them. The multiple bullets broke through surrounding stone with ease, entire cliffs falling and crumbling in the gatling gun's wake as Shizuka swallowed. "We don't have lifepoints to rely on this time around," her friend was shouting, eyes wide, "We need to get as far from this thing as possible! Gh-!”

Shizuka stumbled along behind the teen, bullets scattering behind them as she glanced back. As she recalled, knives, bullets, and even magic had little effect, but... "Ah... Then how are we supposed to fight him?" she shouted, continuing to run before Otogi's arm forced her to skid to a halt. "Gh-"

A bit of stone crumbled off the side of the cliff they'd come to, the section of rock they stood on towering above the rest and looming over a dark section of water. "Hng..! I really wish Anzu's attack worked on this thing," Otogi muttered with a swallow, turning back as the robot chasing them arose into the air. "I might not feel to comfortable about what the attack is, but at least it works..."

The girl silently agreed as their opponent hovered above them, enormous shadow blanketing them in darkness as they stared up. "Nowhere left to run now," Ota chuckled, clicking the gun on his arm as another series of bullets were loaded for the attack. "Any last words?"

"Gh... You... I hope Nihan sends you right where you belong!" the girl spat in response, opponent's lens eyes narrowing in mirth. "I hope you go to HELL!"

"OH- Shizuka... That-"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... BARRAGE!"

"TURMA," a calming voice announced as Ota's own attack echoed through the air, the two teens staring with wide eyes as a shield of light appeared to bounce the bullets off and back at their opponent.

"Gh- AGGGH!" The gunfire halted immediately, Ota stumbling back to claw at his face as a few of his bullets embedded themselves in his face, an incredible amount already fired and making their mark as the Holy Elf smiled from below. "Damn it... DAMN IT..! My EYES!" he roared, pulling at the riveted mask that had formerly shielded them, "MY EYES!" The shield before them began to fade, both teens trading glances before bolting down the cliff lest their opponent find another way to locate them.

"Hah... Hah... You go that way, I'll go this way!" Otogi shouted, Shizuka nodding in response as they split up. "Now!"

"Right..!"

The woman darted behind a stone cliff, looking to the side to watch as Otogi charged toward a far off and clouded area of the field. It looked as though Otogi would be attacking the 'Judgeman' in a moment. And as for her own opponent...

A whip smacked at the ground before her as she stepped around the stone, the woman jumping in shock as a familiar penguin chuckled before her. "G-GH... You!"

"That's right," Otaki chuckled, pulling his whip taught with a grin before holding out a flipper. "Care to dance, Hime-chan?" Her only response as the waters around the plateau receded to reveal dry land and arid cliffs was to spin her spear in one hand, before pointing it forward with a determined nod. Psycho Shocker was one thing.

But she was going to take this thing out no matter what! "Bring it on! 'Fire Wheel!'"

* * *

"HARPIES FEATHER DUSTER!" Katsuya announced seconds before the events on the plateau ha settled into their individual battles, the blond pointing his staff forward as his Harpie left her fight on the stone cliffs to dive forward with a screech. Winds blew fiercely from the air, and despite all impossibility the oceans themselves were blown back by the woman's wing power, those floating in the water plummeting to the ground against the blast. "HAH! Say good bye t' yer ocean," he snarled, before charging forward with a grin. "Th' Harpy Queen attacks th' Fisherman!"

As Katsuya attempted to find his way up one of the nearby cliffs their opponent cringed, already having just barely come to land on a nearby cliff with the absence of the water. "Gh- Shit!" he shouted, his opponents both watching as the harpy launched forward and clawed at the 'teen's face, the monster still bound against himself by chains and blades. Guns eventually clattered to the ground from his hands to vanish into dust, and as he continued to struggle against the constant slashing of his opponent he screamed. "HNNGGG... HGGAAAAAAAAHHH! G _HAAAAAAAAAAAA_!"

"An' I ain't done yet!” he continued with a roar, standing at the top of a cliff on the side as he watched their opponent struggle. It was disturbing to watch his friend's body under this pain... But even so he told himself, it was for that same friend's own good! "Alligator Sword attacks th' face down monster!" he announced, the gator in question leaping forward to throw his blade at the glass.

"W-Wait!" Yugi shouted, eyes wide as he looked from where he himself had been moving to a more strategic position. "Jonouchi," he called out, glass shattering in Otaki's face as even the harpy paused to stare, "That's-"

"Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn..." Blood splattered to the ground as Otaki laughed, the boys both freezing as the teen tilted his head forward. "Whoops," he chuckled, bloodied teeth revealed in full as he grinned. "Looks like you made a mistake... Magician of Faith's effect activates," he spat, turning to look at the blond at the side with narrowed eyes and struggling to his feet. "Allowing me to take one spell card back from my grave. So... You can just wait until the next turn to reap your mistakes now," he sneered, eyes bloodied and face covered in scratches.

The blond tensed, freezing on the cliffs he'd been running along to reach their opponent. Gh... SHIT! Flip effects!

He hadn't even considered-! "Damn it," he cursed, gritting his teeth. "I got ahead 'f myself..."

"Don't worry about it!" Yugi called over from the side, narrowing his eyes and fingering the boomerang in his hands. "I've got a plan..." Ah? He did?

"A plan?" their opponent laughed, cackling as he threw his head back from where the chains bound and held him to the cliff at his knees. "Please..! You're both mere children," he spat, shaking his head and continuing to howl with laughter. "You couldn't hope to win... I'm far superior to you, something you'll find out in just moments!"

Yugi merely snorted, shaking his head whilst their opponent turned to the sound of his voice. "Is that so?" he muttered darkly, snapping his fingers as the menu appeared before each of the duelists' eyes regardless of health. "Well then... You won't mind if I do this. Watch... CARD DESTRUCTION!" he announced, each player watching as their hands cleared out before refreshing completely with new cards from their decks. "Hn! It looks as though your monster was sacrificed for nothing Otaki... Unless that look of horror you just revealed means something else," he added, the teen bowing his head as blood continued to pour from his form.

"G... Hng..."

"A-Ahh... SWEET!" Katsuya shouted loudly, resuming his charge as he sent a thumbs up and a wink to his partner. "Good one Yugi!"

The boy merely smirked, sending a look to his friend and nodding. "Indeed; but we're not done yet!" That was right! "I summon Kuriboh to my defense!" he shouted, before unfolding his boomerang and pushing off the cliff to the opponent's body below, "And now... I ATTACK!"

"An' so do I!" the blond responded, jumping off his own rock only to pale as wounds across the body's face repaired. "GH-!"

"SWITCH!" a smirking voice announced, the chains around Otaki shattering as a blinding light came from their opponent. The black two-piece suit faded from existence, replaced with layer after layer of woolen fabric as the replacement stood to adjust his glasses. "Hn... I activate my ability," the replacement announced with a sneer, enormous missile-launcher aimed toward the 'meet' point of his opponents as he stood back on the somewhat large cliff. "DEATH SENTENCE..."

Shit not this again.

"Oh FUCK!" Katsuya shouted, grabbing Yugi by the back of his armor and pushing back and down the cliff as the weapon fired.

"GH- What-!"

As the missile connected with the ground both boys were blown back against stone cliffs and sand, smoke and dust filling the air as Oka laughed. Stones from the attack's final location collapsed to the ground, sending clouds of sand into the sky amid the laughter and coughs. "Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHA! Your fields are now cleared!" their opponent laughed, before flipping his weapon back over his shoulder to leer down at them from above. "And to continue with my turn," he added, both Yugi and Katsuya wincing as they slowly pulled themselves up off the ground and squinted through the air, "I summon this! The Hysteric Angel!"

The angel? "Crap," Katsuya muttered, looking around for another cliff and grabbing at his stumbling friend's arm. "Yugi," he shouted, "We gotta hide!"

"Right," the boy responded, jumping to the side as a loud 'AERO' was released through the air. Wind and dust both slammed against their backs, throwing them forward as stinging pain erupted across their bodies. "GH!"

"Hgah!" The blond skidded across the sand, pulling himself and his partner up to duck behind a rock as chuckling littered the air. "Hah.. .Hah... Hah... Yugi," he said with a swallow, "Get somewhere else so you c'n make yer move... We can' jus' sit in th' same spot, we'll be dead meat..."

Yugi swallowed, narrowing his eyes a moment in response. "I..." He quickly nodded, sheathing his boomerang and putting his goggles on in the face of the synthesized storm. "Got it; be careful Jonouchi."

"'F course!" When wasn't he? The boy quickly vanished into the dust to the side, Katsuya standing up in the meantime to slowly make his way out from the rocks. Alright... He had to let Oka take his turn before setting cards, but that didn't mean he couldn't look for that angel. So...

...What was that sound? "Hnhnhnhnhn..." W-

Laughing?

Katsuya turned to slowly look up, before stiffening as he again ran out of the way from a fired blast of solid wind. "AERO."

"SHIIIIIIIIITT!" he cried, blast of sand erupting behind him to cloud the air further as he skidded and slipped across the ground. "SHIT SHIT SHI SHI-"

"SHOCKWAVE!" the angel screeched, pointing her fingers forward with a snap. A rumble came through the air as he looked back, eyes widening as it connected with his body.

CRAP. "G-HH _AAAAAAAAAH_!"

The wind threw him off his feet easily as Yugi shouted from where he'd run to, body thrown roughly against the wall. Stones held him in place now. The blond sent a severe look toward his friend as the boy made to move toward him, the look telling Yugi all he needed and might not have wanted to know as he vanished from sight. He wasn't letting him get dragged into this...

Not... "Gnn... Hnggg..."

He couldn't move...

"I activate Catapult Turtle's effect!" came a somewhat faint shout, Katsuya slowly looking upward as he spotted the monster in question from a distance. Oh hey... The turtle... He'd forgotten about- "Sacrificing the Hysteric Angel for another attack!" Wait what.

Another one?! The blond's partially closed eyes widened with shock as the sound of a whirring engine came over the air, followed by a screech as a hand coated with 'sharpened' air stabbed into his stomach. "GH- GLACK!" Blood burst out of his throat, a few bits of flames from his renewed cloak catching onto the oxygen covered monster as it fell into ash before his very eyes, ragged breathing meeting the air as he sent a frozen and blindly aimed look to the skies. "GH- GHAHHhhihhhh... Nghhh..."

It was still Oka's turn... Still his turn he realized through the wave of pain, eyes quivering as he attempted to bite through it. _'I set a card_ ,' he was saying, the blond sliding down the side of the cliff as he clutched his bleeding left side, ' _And in addition_ ,' the teen stated, ' _I activate Altar of Mists...'_ Altar of Mists...

" _Add one ritual spell to your hand after three turns_ ," his 'partner' muttered from the back of his mind, the blond merely giving a choked and garbled cough in response. " _This could be problematic if you don't pick things up,_ " the ghost whispered, his friend continuing to gasp as he rolled to the ground and continued to bleed. Gh...

Tell him something he didn't know he mentally choked, weakly raising a hand as it came to his turn. This...

He had to do something. This... "Hah... Hngk..!" His... Turn... His turn now he told himself, fingers shaking and falling on themselves as he attempted to hold them straight. "Summon... Th' Rocket Warrior," he rasped, pulling himself up to lean on his staff as the sands arose to do just that. "An'... Usin' my ability," he continued, blood dripping from his mouth, "I give it a thousan' more attack points... Now!" he shouted with a slight cry of pain, body shaking as more of its already weakened form was sent into pain. "Hah... Gh- Attack th' turtle!"

With a curt nod the rocket took off, an explosion sounding through the air and sending a ringing white noise through his ears. Sand and metal blew in a wave from the ground, scattering about the field as Katsuya closed his eyes and continued to clutch his wound.

"Hn! Activate the trap revenge sacrifice!" his opponent countered with a barely audible voice, the blond gritting his teeth and looking up at where their opponent stood with rage filled eyes. Tentacles broke free from the ground at the side he knew, wrapping around his rocket warrior completely despite its summoner being unable to truly see what was happening.

And from the sands above a robot was formed in its place, thrusters pushing it from the ground as it took aim with a pair of blasters on its arms. Machine King he realized coldly, eyes widening as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Shit...

"Run while you can, 'Jonouchi'... But I'll be taking you out long before I target your friend!" the monster's summoner shouted, his target struggling to stand with the severity of his injuries. "So," the judge cackled, adjusting the glasses his armor had graced him with, "Try not to take too long to die... Hnhnhnhnhn..." Ohhh shit he thought to himself, the guns above him glowing with a charge.

OHHHHH _SHIT_.

Gunfire sounded through the air, the blond rolling to the side and stumbling to his feet despite the immense pain it caused. Casings and shells struck the sands as he broke into a run, geysers of dirt filling the air behind him as he attempted to escape. Shit... SHIT...

"Shit shit shit SHIT SHIT!" This wasn't good, he told himself, sand spraying behind him as he hurriedly found a rock to duck behind through his pain, "Not good at-"

"I summon Des Volstgalph in attack mode!" his friend shouted from a short distance away, a thundering roar shaking the air itself as a shadow appeared over himself and the rock both. Volstgalph...

But that didn't have enough power that...

It... The blond pulled himself up and over the rock, grimacing as dirt entered his wounds and as stones scraped away at his nerves. That monster... He couldn't do this with that monster he told himself, pulling himself over and onto the cliff before rolling on his front with a grunted cry. He couldn't...

Yet he was... "Lastly I set a card, and end my turn," Yugi was saying, standing on the shoulder of the dragon as the beast snarled. That monster...

"GH- YUGI!" he protested with a shout, the boy not looking down as Oka seemed to stare with narrowed eyes. "Yugi what're y' doin'?" he wailed, "You'll lose like that!" This strategy was way too obvious! He was practically shouting to their opponent that this thing was a trap, this wouldn't work against even the newest of duelists! "Don' mess around damn it..! Y' can'... Don'..." Hell, unless this was another of those bizarre 'I had something hidden there all along' moments this was going to turn out horribly..! "YU-"

Roaring laughter broke from across on the field, the blond looking forward as their opponent's form again shifted. Thick and billowing robes were replaced with tight boots, a black coat covering most of the teen's form as a hat appeared on his head. Electric green eyes, the first to reveal an iris of any sorts stared out to the field, with lines of circuitry scattered across them. "HnhnhnhnH _AHAHAHAAA_! My turn," Ota chuckled, the anti-tank gun on his back replaced with a revolver in one hand and a mounted gatling gun on the forearm opposite. "And if you think I'll be so moronic as to fall for that trap you have," he chuckled, adjusting his gatling gun idly as he continued on. "Well, you're far denser than I thought!"

Yugi merely said nothing, Katsuya growing pale as a stiff look appeared on his friend's face. That expression... That... This wasn't... "AAUHHHHHH Yugi!" he shouted, not caring about how subtle he wasn't for the moment. "This isn'- Th's is... Damn it! OTAAAAA!" the blond snarled, pulling himself to his knees with wide eyes, "I'm gonna SLAUGHTER y' when I get th' chance! Glk-!" OW...

Ow don't shout any more... Ota merely smirked at the futile threats, the vest the others had worn replaced with a long knee-length duster coat as he pointed his machine king forward for battle. "Hn! You should have listened to your friend," he laughed to Yugi, before a short click came through the air as his pistol's safety was removed. "Spell card; HEAVY STORM!" he announced, firing the revolver toward the sheet of glass in front of Yugi's face and scattering it into pieces. An image hovered through the air for a moment as the boy appeared to wince, his opponent chuckling in response. "Hn... 'Mirror Force' eh?" the teen sneered, Yugi appearing to frown as he nodded.

"Right- had you attacked," the boy explained somewhat plainly, "You'd have destroyed yourself... ...Sorry, Jonouchi," he added, looking toward his friend with a still blank stare. "It seems that this is all I could come up with." What...

Wh-Wh- "Sorry... But this ain't a 'sorry' situation," he whispered from the cliff as he choked, shaking his head. "I mean... Yer monster's abou' t' be-" De...

Stroyed... The blond's eyes widened as Yugi held out his hand, winking as his dragon began to glow with an odd energy. As the dragon's eyes gleamed with rage, clawed hands flexing in anticipation. "H-Hang on..." Vorstgalph, 2200 attack points...

Gains power whenever...

Whenever a spell was cast.

A spell like Heavy Storm, for example. As Yugi continued to hold out his hand the blond could see the Machine King rise up behind them, blue glass eyes shining in some unknown source of light. He could see the dragon whose clawed hand Yugi stood upon turn its head to fire a blast of flames upward, the monster snarling in rage at the attempted strike to its summoner. And more importantly, as he threw his hand upward with a weak and pained grin, he could hear Ota cursing in light of the destruction of his monster.

"Gh- Damn it!" he spat, throwing his pistol to the ground and clicking something on his opposite arm into place, "DAMN IT!"

"Hah..." Molten scrap fell to the ground as he leaned back against the dragon's claw, unable to contain his laughter and cheer despite the fatal pain he felt. "Heh... Yugi! Tha' was g-"

The boy smirked, his dragon taking off into the air as both of them clung to the sides of its claws. "Hold that thought," he said plainly, Katsuya just noticing that his friend's weapon was gone for the moment. "Boomerangs attack twice after all; and when Vorstgalph attacks!" he went on, turning to Ota as the teen narrowed his electric and glowing eyes, "500 points of damage are inflicted directly to the player!"

As their opponent paled a slight 'buzzing' noise could be heard, the attack Yugi referred to revealing itself in an instant; the triple bladed device cut deep into Ota's left arm as he moved it from his gatling gun, and as he cried in pain the weapon continued to travel until it was gripped tightly in its owners hand. "GH! You little rats...!" Laughter and cheers were cut short as another series of clicks met the air, gatling gun spinning as its owner cursed. "BARRAGE!" he snarled, pointing his weapon forward and firing. "You can all just burn in HELL!"

Smoke filled the air as their opponent grinned in rage, only for the expression to fall as a shield of dragon's wings were revealed to the teen.

"Gh... Damn it!" Volstgalph...

The dragon had blocked the attacks, and there wasn't even a scratch! "H-Hah! HAHA! Tha's great!” he choked, before biting his lip as another wave of pain came through him. Yugi stooped down examining the wound in worry as his friend attempted to speak. "Hng... Yugi, th- This..." The blond paled, swallowing as his friend continued to stare in worry while the dots in his mind connected. Yugi had... "Oh man... ...Yugi... You got 'm t' attack you instead 'f me," he whispered, shaking his head with wide eyes. "Tha'... You saved..."

Again Yugi smirked, shaking his head despite the pain his friend was in. "It's nothing," he said calmly, quite clearly just glad to see his friend was alive. "You'd have done the same for me! I have to say though," he chuckled, leaning back on his dragon's claws a moment as the smirk grew. "You're an extremely good actor..." A-Actor! He thought he was- "...I have a feeling that if you hadn't sounded so sincere about not knowing Volstgalph's effect my ploy wouldn't have worked," the boy continued, Katsuya slowly nodding in response. AH- AHA...

Of course... "H-Ha...Hahaaha! W- What?" he laughed, grimacing through the pain and continuing on, "Y' think I wouldn' know when yer doin' somethin' like tha'? Really?" Hahaha... HAHAHA-

_Oh god he'd almost gotten turned into a dog-thing_!

Below them Ota had given up on firing his weapon, the gatling gun adjusting itself as he pulled it back to snarl. "Hn! So you've saved yourself for one turn," he growled, narrowing his eyes before adjusting the cap on his head. "That won't save you next time!" Hn...

"Yeah... I figur'd," he muttered in response, Volstgalph shifting somewhat as its passengers made their move from its claws. "So I'm settin' a card, an' bringin' out th' Panther Warrior in d'fense mode," he called out with a choke. "An' wi' that in mind," he continued, Yugi summoning his own defense monster as they kicked off the dragon to charge forward despite any and all injuries sustained, "Let's DO THIS!"

"Right! VOLSTGALPH!" Yugi roared, kicking off a few nearby cliffs below them before throwing his boomerang forward, "ATTACK!"

And with a roar of flames the standard for the final half of the match was decided.


	16. Two Become One

When it came to penguins, one would think that fighting one wouldn't be too difficult. They were hardly agile on land after all and when it came to running the creatures had barely enough legs to even walk properly. They had no fingers with which to hold any kind of weapon, and did not look like the sort of animal to be feared as opposed to loved and hugged.

And yet Shizuka's spear was entangled in Otaki's whip once again, this time proving immobile. As it was caught completely, the woman had to grit her teeth in annoyance. "Gh... You..."

This was the third time this happened, and each one ended in the same thing damn it! "Hehehehehehe.. Feeling stuck?" the penguin cackled, eyes narrowed in mirth as a fruitless tug of war began and led into the usual attack. "How about you loosen up? BRINE!" he roared, a blast of water shooting from his mouth as Shizuka squealed. AH-

That wasn't the electric- "GYAH-GH!" The water flung her back a few feet, ragged coughs and sputterings escaping her throat as she attempted to spit out the salt water Otaki had launched in her face. "Kh- Blech..!" Auggh...

Brackish water... He'd attacked her with brackish-

"And again, with a little twist," she heard, blood draining from her face as she looked up. "... Shock Whip!" the penguin coldly stated, his opponent looking up with wide eyes as the sparking weapon tore toward her. Gh... That weapon...

Before she was fine, but covered in SALT WATER she'd be-

Shi- "Ohhhh Oooootaaakiiii~!" a haunting voice called out, low chuckling accompanied by a loud hissing noise. "Forget about us?" Shizuka swallowed in terror as the whip stopped a mere centimetre from her face, the penguin pulling his weapon back to turn to the voice with wide eyes. Towering above him now was the still sparking form of Ren's massive 'Astrape' form, fangs bared and sparking with an electric venom. The form that Shizuka was considering as possibly a larger threat than even the opponents, a form that was now shadowing them both completely.

"H-Hihhhh... SHIT!" the penguin squawked, running off only to be blocked by a massive sparking tail as Ren laughed.

"HAHAHA! Guess that's a yes!" he howled, coiling tightly around the monster as he shocked it into submission. "SAY 'AAAAAAHH!"

"H-HAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" In seconds the serpents coils were wrapped around an ashen and smoking corpse, Ren snapping it within its jaws as Anzu ran over with a just slightly crazed gleam hovering over her look of concern.

"Shizuka!" she shouted, an eye of sorts glowing across her brow as she held out a hand. "Shizuka," she repeated, "Are you alright?"

The girl blinked, slowly standing up with a nod as she ignored the outstretched hand. "Y-Yes... Yes I'm fine," Shizuka answered with a choke, "I just..." She swallowed, shaking her head as she looked to her friend. "Well... Are you?"

Anzu stared a moment in confusion, before smirking almost boyishly as she laughed. "HAH! Of course! Never better!" If this was 'never better', what would happen when it was better? "Now, Ren?" she called up, the snake grinning viciously as his fangs dripped a sparking fluid to the ground. "Who's next?"

"Hehehehehe... Well," he called down with a rumble, "I see a pesky cyborg I'd like to deal with..."

His partner nodded, hopping up the coils as her smirk grew. "Then lets go! Shizuka," the woman added, hopping onto her snake's head and looking down at the girl with a wink, "Hang in there alright?" A-Ahh...

...Really, it was like talking to a completely different person, but- "R-Right! I'll do my best!" she shouted up, before a shout cut her following words short.

"HAAAAAHHH what kind of match up is this," a familiar teen cried miserably, bolting toward the snake and Shizuka both with a scream. "This is BULLSHIT!"

The girl blinked, watching in mild shock as Otogi barrelled past her and the others with Honda yelping behind him as they ran. "DAMN IT-ARU!" the dog barked, machine gun fire blasting behind them and forcing Shizuka behind a rock for cover, as Anzu's snake darted to the side as well, "We were JUST about to get some damage in-aru!" Just-

Shizuka glanced back from where she'd followed the boys, holding her tongue with narrowed eyes. Oka was here again... But that would mean that he could see again, which was impossible!

"Hn... These guys certainly have a nasty habit of switching out when it benefits them," the teen growled bitterly, flipping over another stone as explosions shook the ground behind him and forced the trio to flee yet again. "Heck," he continued to Honda, Shizuka managing to find a nook in the rocks to hide in, "If Oka had just stayed put one moment longer we'd have gotten that stupid giant before he swapped out to begin with!"

Another wave of machine fire pounded the air, Anzu long gone as the targets of Oka's rage were left huddling in fear.

"Gh... But this isn't good," Otogi muttered, looking around the stone. "Electric attacks and blades don't do anything on this guy..!"

"Not to mention my attacks-aru," the dog added with a nod, before shaking his head with a confused growl. "And just how did this guy find us again!"

"WELL," cackled the robotic Knight, appearing in front of them as the pair skidded to a stop and looked at the enormous machine above them. "It's fairly easy when you have heat sensors as a back up..." H-Heat...

"Heat sensors!?" Honda exclaimed, smacking his head with a paw. "Why didn't I think of that-aru?"

"Besides the fact that you wouldn't have thought of it when you were human... I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to find out later," his partner said with a fear filled swallow, only to frown as the robot turned to the side. "...Hang on..."

"...He's not firing-aru..."

"I know," Otogi hissed, "Now shut u-"

"...That fool," the mecha hissed, before fading from sight as his opponents stared. "HNP! I'll be right back..." Right back..?

But then what-

In a swirl of dust a gavel pounded the ground, Honda and Otogi leaping back in separate directions as the mallet wielding warrior 'Judgeman' appeared before them. "Ha- They switched out again!" he shouted, knives gripped tightly in his hands as Honda snarled and fell to the ground. "You bastards-aru... MY BODY IS NOT A TOY-ARU! GIVE IT BACK! R _OUR! ROUF ROU AOUF!_ "

The giant merely chuckled, swinging its mallet back on his shoulder to leer at the two 'ants' before it. "Hnhnhnhn... While I agree with your statement," Oka laughed darkly, "I can't say I agree with the reasoning behind it. Now... My turn to attack!" he snarled, swinging his hammer down on Otogi only for it to be blocked by the teen. The mallet shook in the giant's hands, eyes widening as he looked down in horror. "GH- WHAT!"

Small craters appeared in the ground beneath his feet from the impact of the block, Otogi wincing as he held the easily car-sized mallet off using naught but his two knives. "H... Heh... Moron," he laughed, a somewhat dark grin appearing on his face as he pushed the mallet away to leap on top of it, "The level system still applies here... And now that I'm a higher level than you," the teen continued in the face of the monster, "It doesn't matter how big you are! And now," he shouted, launching himself forward with the daggers as he ran along the monster's arm. "It's MY turn; RED RAIN!"

In a flash of colour matching the name Otogi struck, Oka seemingly frozen as the teen appeared on the opposite side of him. There was no injury that could be seen. No sinking sensation as his body split in two or simply collapsed, not even a scratch. "H... H... You..." The giant appeared to look himself over in fear, laughter sounding almost unbelieving as he gripped his gavel. "Hahahaha... HAHAHAHA! You MISSED!" the monster cackled, turning on his opponent before freezing in shock. "GHK-" Stumbling the demon fell to his knees, gripping his stomach with a shout as blood sprayed from his mouth. "GHAAAK! AAAAAAGGGHHH! Wh... WHAT!" What indeed...

"It's the ability of the 'Red Rain' attack," his opponent explained coldly, standing before the giant as it collapsed in agony. "Rather than attacking from the outside in," the teen explained, eyes dim and detached as he went on, "A single 'dagger' is sent inside the body... And while there," Otogi continued, "It multiples... Until finally," he stated, skin reddening over the giants form as he struggled to move, "After it's filled every empty space it can..."

"G-GHA- G _RAH-_ "

_-splt_

"...It can't take any more."

A scream cut off just as quick as it started, the monster before them having pulled up with a snarl in an attempt to attack before 'exploding'. A shower of blood and cloth poured to the ground in its wake, and as the teen stared at the bloody mess that Oka's 'judgeman' body had been reduced to Honda shuddered.

"H-Hahhh... Remind me to never piss you off-aru! That's scary as hell," he choked, stepping away from the mess with a quivering body.

Otogi smirked, shaking his head despite the sheer gore that had just occurred before him. "Hn! It's not like this will all transfer to the real world anyways; what do you have to fear?" Honda merely swallowed at that, his friend walking over as Shizuka as well began to step out from her hiding place. A softer smile came over his face, and he gestured for the others to follow. "Now... Come on. There's still one more left after all!" he shouted, a bark of agreement coming from the dog beside him as they turned to the center of the field.

"Ah- Right" Honda called out, pushing out from his friend's arm as his head opened wide for attack. "Let's do this, ARU!"

"Only one left now!" Ren hissed loudly, the cyborg he'd been fighting finally forced to the center of the field.

"That's right... 'Daimon'!" the woman on his head shouted, pointing her staff forward as Shizuka watched with narrowed eyes, "Prepare yourself! ASTRAPE!"

"RED RAIN," Otogi added in as he leaped forward.

"ENERGY-SHOT-ARU!"

Wait...

WAIT! "GUYS!" Shizuka shouted with a jolt of fear, "WAIT!"

The four froze mid attack as Shizuka's panicked shout came from the side, nothing but smoke and dust filling the air where Daimon's Psycho Shocker had stood moments before. They couldn't see more than a foot before them in the explosion, Daimon's 'hurricane' having attacked the ground rather than his opponents for reasons beyond them.

Nonetheless it was Shizuka who was now the target of confusion. "...Wait?" Otogi repeated, eyes wide as he looked back from the center field.

"What do you mean 'wait'?" Anzu protested with a frown, "Once we defeat Daimon-"

"Hn _hnnhnhn_..." The crowd's blood ran cold as a figure appeared in the dust, each of the fighters stepping back with wide eyes as what had been Daimon's 'Psycho Shocker' tripled in height to hover in the air before them. "I believe she said to wait... Because none of your attacks would have any effect..."

"Ohhhh god... One word," Otogi said with a swallow, stepping back as Honda nodded.

"SHIT."

* * *

Volstgalph's flames were a powerful strike to behold. They formed an attack so booming that the crackling fires blocked out even the sounds behind them after all, shrouding all that lay on the field before them in a blinding haze. As the fires died down however, with Yugi and Katsuya both charging their opponent alongside ghostly forms of their defensive monsters, they found themselves staring in shock and wishing quite horribly that it was possible to move in mid air.

"Gh- This-!"

Their opponent had switched.

Dead eyes stared up from the face of their friend's body, along with a wicked smirk and a hand-device that was beginning to charge on each palm. "My turn," Daimon hissed, the Psycho Shocker's green leather and latex clothing stretched over his body. "Care to face the 'demon'? HURRICANE!"

"Gh- SHI-"

Wind blew both boys back with pained shouts, Yugi skidding along the face of a cliff while his friend clung to an opposite rock, blood spurting from his still open wound as he choked and cried out in pain. "D-Daimon! ..GH... Activate trap!" he shouted with a wheezing cough, his opponent's smirk growing even more menacing in appearance as the blond continued. "Drop Off!"

"Negated," the teen hissed, snapping his fingers as he jumped from his cliff toward where the blond hung. Negate- Oh hell... "And since it's my turn," the monster continued to sneer, "I'll play pot of greed and summon this! Injection Angel Lily! As for you!" he snarled, hands held toward his opponent as he cackled, "FIRESTORM!"

Shit, magic! "GHA-" The blond ducked under the flames as Daimon hovered through the air, only to gape as the blond looked over himself and laughed. The fires were absorbed into the cloak on his back, his wounds sealing before the levitating cyborg's eyes as Daimon grit his teeth. "Ah... Ahahah... HAH _AHAHAHA_!" YES! "IDIOT!" he snarled through a grin, kicking off the stone to swing his staff toward the teen. "I'm made 'f _FIRE_! All you've done is screwed yerself over! HAHAHAHA!"

"What-! GH... I activate my effect!" the monster shouted as he was beaten back into the ground, choking on his words and rolling to avoid the falling strike from the blond. "Sacrificing 2000 lifepoints to raise Lily's attack by 3000!" Wait three thousand?! "LILY!" Daimon snarled, pushing his opponent back with a block as Katsuya continued to swing at the man with his staff, "Attack Volsgalph!" Th-Three thousand...

Lily's attack was only four hundred so...

"Hnhnhn... Time for your injection," the angel that had appeared above them chuckled, Yugi swallowing as the dragon at his side moved to protect him. The angel's serene smile took a dangerous turn, eyes narrowed to slits as she pointed her hypo forward and cackled. "DUST BOWL!"

From just below the angel a wave of sand blew toward the boy, Katsuya scrambling toward his friends before skidding to a halt as his opponent ran to block his path. "Gh-! You..!"

"Hnhnhnn... He won't be needing you," Daimon chuckled, taking a fighting stance as his opponent did the same. "Activate Sobek's Blessing," the teen announced almost off-handedly, ragged coughs coming from behind as Yugi was left with nothing but a swirling dust storm in the place of his monster. "And in addition," he muttered, pacing before his opponent as the blond narrowed his eyes, "I set one card... So tell me," he sneered, smirk widening as his opponent swallowed. "Just what do you plan to do now?"

Tch... What would he do?

A card appeared in the back of his mind, and Katsuya smirked. He knew exactly what to do. "How abou' give y' a taste 'f yer own medicine?" he spat, the mist around him blowing into the sands behind him as cliffs and stone began to collapse around them. "Tha' thing there's a trap ain't it?" Katsuya asked, his opponent paling as the scenery began to crumble into another realm entirely, "So how's this! I tribute th' Panther Warrior an' summon my own Psycho Shocker!" he snarled, Daimon looking up with wide and milky looking eyes as the cyborg arose behind his opponent from pillars of sand and the dust of his former monster both. "So! N'gate th' trap!" he shouted, a laser blasting past him from the tower as he charged his opponent and roared. "NOW!"

"Gh! You think that's all it takes?" Daimon snarled, ducking a swipe from the staff and firing a dodged shot of energy as the blond aimed a kick toward the teen. "Lily is still the most powerful monster on this field! While you fight me," he continued with a grin, "I'll finish you off using her attack against that monster you foolishly summoned!" Katsuya froze with that, skidding to a stop as his opponent stopped a few meters away to continue chuckling. "GH..." That...

That was right, Lily's power would last until it was Daimon's turn again! "Shit," he hissed, turning to look at his monster as the angel prepared her attack and cackled. "That-"

"Jonouchi!" Yugi called out from the side, his position creating a sort of triangle from the trio of duelists as he stood from the hill of sand he'd almost been trapped under. "As I recall," he shouted out as he coughed, "Attack wasn't the only thing that determined a battle's win, correct?" That...

The blond blinked, before his eyes widened with realization in regards to the advice. Only the attack... "AH- Right!" And he had just the thing for that too he realized with a mental laugh, kicking away from another swipe his opponent had made before the grin widened. "Heh... Block attack!” he announced, turning to look up at Lily as he pointed his staff toward the angel. "An' while tha' happens," he continued, his opponent freezing to look toward his monster with a shout, "Do yer thing, Psycho Shocker!"

In a blinding beam of light the monster destroyed the woman, the angel having gone from aggressive to fearful in the span of mere seconds. Light seared over the angel's face, causing the monster to glow, brighter and brighter, until finally with a short and cut scream ashes fell to the ground. "AH- DAMN IT!" Daimon snarled, clenching his fists ant turning back on his opponent. "You damned scum!" HAH! Was that the worse he had?

"Your turn Yugi!" Katsuya laughed, hurriedly ducking a 'thunder shot' as his angered opponent moved to strike him down again and again for each laugh he let out. "I leave this t' you!"

"Right!" the boy announced, his own misted defense monster vanishing to the air as he took his turn. "Sacrifice the Shield Gardna," Yugi began from the cliff's bottom, "To summon the Dark Magician Girl!" As sands rose up beside him, forming the young woman a smirk appeared on his face, the summoner pointing his monster forward with a nod. "Now... ATTACK! BLACK BURNING!" they both cried, the magician sending her attack forward with an echoing shout.

Before Daimon could even say a word the attack connected, flames of black and violet 'light' catching onto his body to shroud him from sight. Katsuya distanced himself from the teen as quick as he could whilst the flames continued to burn and spread, shouts of pain coming from within them as the realm collapsed further into. Stone eroded into sand. Sand piled into distant hills and plains, forming the realms of a desert long past...

But over the sounds of crumbling the screams changed, and the more they realized this the more the blood drained from their faces. "Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHA _HAHAHA... HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA_!" Cackling met the air and with a nervous swallow Katsuya glanced over at his partner, the boy exchanging a similar wide-eyed look before turning back with his weapon ready. After all...

If it was one thing you learned after a few run ins with this sort of thing, it was this- Crazed laughter in the place of agonized screams were never a good sign.

* * *

Before Daimon had been set ablaze and before his 'Angel' had taken down the dragon on the 'duelists' field, there had been a fair amount of panic on the high stone plateau far beyond it. Once Ota returned to the field after all, even with his partners each defeated long before, the robot easily dominated the group attack him.

"BARRAGE!" he roared, Ren tossed back and reduced to his tiny and nigh-useless form when his lightning proved useless in the face of the beast. "METAL SOUND!" he continued with a second, new attack, a wave of sharpened wind coming from the rapier he swung toward the others. As the blades scattered through the air those fighting moved similarly, Honda snatched up in Otogi's arm as the teen hurriedly leaped to avoid the attack below him.

"GH- Damn it... How do we take this thing out now!" he snarled, the dog in his arms barking similar comments as Shizuka swallowed from behind the rock. Bullets were shattering the stone before them, sending dust into the air and chipping craters into the cliffs. Lighting failed, blades failed, bullets failed... "We can't just do nothing!" Otogi was shouting, attempting to dodge the attacks as he bounced off each stone cliff, "We can't-"

"METAL BARRAGE!" Ota roared, bringing a blade through the air as a wall of steel met the gazes of all those on the field.

"W- This guy double casts!?" Ren protested, the combined force of 'Metal Sound' and 'Barrage' both firing down upon them. The bullets pounded the air with the wave of a hand, a pained shriek coming from Anzu as she was clipped in the side during her escape. "G- Anzu!" the snake cried, the woman slumped on the ground and looking to her now shredded right side with shaking breaths. "Anzu..!"

"H-HN... HGG _GAAAAAAHH_... D-Damn it!" she cried, looking up at the robot above her as it approached. "Hn... B-BLIZZARD!" she screamed through her shuddering breaths, staff pointed upward as the ice blasted forward. "H-HAIL STORM!" Screams were filling the air.

As Anzu's attack connected nothing happened save a slight scratch of paint, the stones continuing to fall from the sides of the cliffs as Ota laughed from the air. There had to be something they could do she thought with a bit lip, slowly climbing her way atop the higher stones behind the opponent. If she used her 'Barrage' it wouldn't do anything, it wasn't powerful enough as normal bullets but...

'Double Casting'. Ren mentioned double casting she remembered, information on her own 'ability' coming to mind as she took a shuddering breath. "H... Hahhh..." Yes...

This would work! Shizuka's eyes narrowed, and with a nervous swallow she rushed further along the cliffs where she'd been hiding behind her opponent. She had an idea. It had to work she told herself as she ran, it just had to! And as the woman charged shouts were filling the air from the field at the side, with her brother making his own move. The cliffs were dissolving into sand, falling down beneath her feet as she ran before kicking off the last bits of stone to face her opponent in battle.

This was it..!

"OTA!" she roared, the robot halting its fire as the others fell down the collapsing sands, his own form still supported by the thrusters on his feet. The monster turned, and with her spear in hand Shizuka swung forward with a narrowed glare. "Recognize this?" she asked, before bringing the blade upward. "DOUBLE CAST... HAILSTONE FUSILADE!"

From the edge of the spear blade blue ice formed, the combined power of Otaki's stolen frost attacks merging with the very barrage she'd taken from the monster before her. In a swift arc she brought the weapon through the air, and with the movement came an endless series of hailstones to blast toward their target in the form of various carved torpedos.

"Gh- This- A- AAAH! HAA _AAAAAAAHHH_!"

"Hah..."

The others stared only momentarily as the monster was thrown back against the collapsing stone and sand, hurriedly regaining their own resolve to attack. "Hn! Red Rain!" Otogi added in as he charged the monster, the ice breaking through Ota's prized metal structure to leave him vulnerable to attack. With a swift movement a dagger was dropped into the hull, Otogi pushing off lest he be carried away with the sands himself. Nothing seemed to happen...

But within moments the machine was clawing at its own hide, pained screams raging through the air. "G-GHHAAAA-!"

"Alright-aru... Don't forget about me-ARU! ENERGY SHOT!" Honda snarled, hopping from the few stones he'd found solace on to fire their opponent further against the collapsing ground. "That'll teach you to take my body-ARU!"

Another blast tore through the air, forcing Ota further as the steadily collapsing and eroding ground beneath them continued to prove uneasy ground. Already half of the monster was buried, wires shredded, hull dented and smashed. The monster however still wasn't down for the count just yet. As Shizuka landed to the crumbling sands at the side the robot snarled, taking aim from where it fell.

"You _bitch,_ " he spat, 'breathing' raggedly as he narrowed his eyes. "You're worse than HER! Hahhh... B... BARRA-"

The gatling gun began to whirr as Ota prepared to attack, only for another shout to cut through the air. "Our turn!" Anzu cried, shooting forward on what looked to be a serpent made entirely of water as she held her side. "We aren't through just yet!"

"That's right!" her partner roared, cackling almost madly as he swirled above the robot. "How about we find out why computers and water don't mix!”

" _DELUGE!_ "

The serpent did not attempt to swallow or suffocate the robot as he had the others Shizuka noticed as the attack was called out. Instead it appeared to simply burst into nothing but a tidal wave, Anzu diving forward with all the force of a great and powerful tsunami as she struck their opponent down by the staff in her hands. The attacks had all merged with Ota sputtering and sparking in the aftermath, but even with this there was more, just in case the robot had survived even that.

The sand had continued to collapse through this after all.

"H-Hey!” Honda yelped in surprise, hopping out from his spot with wide eyes. "I think we're sinking-aru!" Their legs were getting caught in the sands, and in her own case the stone she fell to simply dropped below, Shizuka's eyes wide as her seat began to slowly tumble toward an endless fall through the sands. "Th- We... We've gotta get out of here here-aru!"

"Tell us something we don't know!" his partner shouted in response, hurriedly pulling his legs from the sand as he began to sink. "You can fly can't you?" Otogi asked, the dog turning. "Well do something!"

"Fl- There's no way I can carry you all-ARU! Are you crazy-aru!"

The teen scowled, fixing his friend with a glare as the dog made his excuses. "Hng... Try it anyways!" he shouted, the dog shaking his head.

"I can't-aru! I'm barely the size of your head as it is!"

Well if he didn't try then what did he think would happen! "Ngh... HONDA-HAN!" she screamed, the dog yelping as the girl pulled herself up the collapsing hillside. The woman grit her teeth, the robot behind her sinking further and further into the sand as she stood a few feet away. "Hah... D... Do it NOW!"

"A- Got it!" the dog hurriedly shouted nervously, nodding in the face of an enraged Shizuka. "No problem!"

She didn't know how Honda knew to activate this 'mode' of his. Quite frankly she didn't really want to know, given how it manifested. But as the appearance of a fleshy and furred head was again replaced with metal she grabbed onto one of the hounds fore-paws in an iron grip, Otogi already gripping the hind ones as panels began to spin in a vicious and beating cycle.

"Hold on tight-aru!" the dog said with a swallow, expression unable to be determined now that his sensations were restricted to the tendrils from his neck. "If this works-aru, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" They got it, they got it...

"Just GO!” Otogi shouted, their legs already beginning to sink again.

"Erf! Alright-aru!"

The whirring sounds of a helicopter started instantly as the dog awkwardly took off, the others pulled out from the sand as they watched it disappear below. Anzu...

They had to find Anzu she told herself, soon spotting the woman from atop one of Ota's barely visible fingers. "Hey! Guys!" she shouted up, her snake wrapped around her arm as she gestured down. "Down here! Hurry, I don't have much time!"

"Ah-" Not much time indeed- Anzu was literally on the edge of her rope, standing atop the middle finger and waving as it began to sink.

"Ngh- Grab on!" Shizuka called out, holding out her spear with wide eyes. "Hurry!"

Without another word the woman nodded, jumping from the finger to cling on the spear end as they were carried away.

"H-Hah... Dang Honda... You can really pull your weight," Ren commented from the woman's head, looking up as a few feelers pointed their way down to stare and respond.

"Aouff! I'll take that as a compliment, snake-boy!"

The serpent blinked, slowly nodding as he pulled back. "Errm... Good for you," he coughed, the tendril continuing to hover before him as he paled. "Just get that tentacle outta my face..."

"Well... After you did all of that crap on the field-aru, I have to make sure you don't do it again," he said rather plainly, Ren tensing in an instant.

"C- What the hell are you talking about?" he hissed, a low growl coming from the speaker above. "Tch- Anzu doesn't ordinarily break into mad cackles-aru! You know damn well what you did-aru!"

As the yelps and barks continued to sound the others stared, Anzu in particular blinking a few times in confusion. "...Wow Honda... You really are sounding more like a dog," she said rather nervously, the puppy's fur bristling in response.

"AH- S-Stop bringing it up-aru, I'm getting self-conscious about this!"

"Well it's true," she muttered, only to wince as the growls continued.

"R-R _ERF_! Seriously-aru! Stop! I'm starting to- Y- _YRF_!" With a sudden blast of wind and sand the four were blown off course, yelps a shouts filling the air as they looked to the approaching ground below.

"Ah- Quick!" Ren shouted, coiling around a clump of his partner's hair. "Jump!" Anzu hurriedly dropped off the spear as the others collapsed and did as told, dropping to the sand with wide eyes.

The sky was darkening. It was as though it were the middle of the evening, or the presence of an immense storm that they had somehow missed. However that was not what caught their attentions, and as they looked out into the distance they paled. Laughter was filling the air. Storm clouds converging, and as runes appeared across the ground the earth began to shake.

"I've been _WAITING_ for this," Daimon was cackling, Honda's body effectively in monopoly thanks to their own actions on the field. "It's been three turns since this spell was played. I add one ritual spell to my hand, and with this," he continued, armor evaporating into nothing but complete shadows of the body's original garb, " _WE_ WILL WIN!"

"W-We?" Otogi repeated, eyes wide.

"They're all in there-aru... They're using it at the same time!" he snarled, attempting to run forward before being snatched up by Shizuka as the others stared in frozen shock. "BASTARDS! YOU SAID ONE AT A TIME-ARU, KEEP YOUR DAMN PROBLEMS ARU!" Hah...

Hah... Keep... "I think... I think this is one at a time," Anzu muttered with wide eyes, the others swallowing as the ground continued to shake violently. A fissure appeared to separate the ground between them and the field, sand pouring into cracks as the woman swallowed and stepped back from what had almost swallowed her in an instant. "H- Hhh... This... This is..."

"This is going to be hell..."

* * *

There was only one word to describe this situation. And though it wasn't only one word what Otogi had muttered off to the side was close enough to it.

No one else was saying those words though. After all as their opponent stood before them it was taking all they could not to succumb to the effects of the ritual, all they could not to be blown away by the sand blasting past their forms as their monsters were eroded away into nothing by the razor-like force.

" _WE ACTIVATE THE RITUAL SPELL DRAGON'S REVIVAL!_ " shouted the body before them, light bursting in patterns of all kinds around the field as the teen's voice seemed to distort. As runes and inscriptions circled at various points of the field, releasing a tall light as they were connected into a circle and pentacle. "And we offer up the proper tribute! Sacrificing a monster of WATER," they began, the 'Deep Sea Warrior' rising into a pillar of the material in the far distance from that same circle, "Of FIRE, " they continued, the Robotic Knight appearing in another ring, this one of flames.

"OF WIND, EARTH, and DARKNESS, " the twisted voices called, the remaining deckmasters summoned to the five points of the immense star, surrounded by the immense pillars of their elemental choice. "And from their sacrifices, we summon the monster forth the KING of DRAGONS, the GOD OF ALL," hey roared, the body before them beginning to twist and change as cracks filled the air. The voice deepened as sands and elements swirled about them in a vicious cyclone, booming across to pierce the ears of all those below. "FIVE GOD DRAGON!"

With the final echoing announcement the beast began to form, bones cracking and rearranging as the body of their friend slowly mutated into the summoned dragon. Sleeves were torn, shape bent and warped before sands shielded them from the sight of their friend's body doing anything more than growing oversized wings and clawed arms. The cyclone's light began to dull...

From one head on an enormous quadrupedal dragon came four others, the cyclone shattering with a feral and echoing roar. A blue-scaled one of water, a blazing one of flames... The metal, wind oriented one, along with the mire coloured 'earth' head. And in the center of it all as the ground cracked and fell apart in massive fissures the head of shadows stood dominant...while beneath it, head slumped forward as though asleep, they could see their friend's body.

His entire form from the waist down and his shoulders on had pulled back and merged with the dragon. His eyes were closed, seemingly at peace... And his clothes were that of what he'd worn from the game start, the only thing absent being the belt of magazines he had carried with him. But as the five-god dragon stood before them the body continued to speak regardless, mouth moving mechanically as the five draconic heads snarled.

"Hnhnh _nhnHAHAHAAA_... Witness our TRUE power," the monster sneered, voices echoing through the mouth of their friend with all the sounds of a demonic legion. "With this form we are _UNTOUCHABLE_! Only LIGHT monsters can attack us, and only those surpassing our power will make it as it is! Of course, with what happened last time," they spat, the five heads hissing and growling to match the emotion, "We'll be setting a card... And as for the rest," they laughed madly, "As we cannot attack this turn, we will give you a chance to prepare for your DEATHS! HAH _AHAHAHAHAAAA_!" Gh...

Shit. Five thousand attack points and even then there was only one thing out there that could beat it out right... "God damned bastards! How th' hell are we s'pposed t' beat this thing now?" he hissed, staff held forward in futile defense.

"There's always some way," his friend muttered, biting his lip as he looked to the ground in thought. "...And... As to that way..." He swallowed, looking to his friend with an odd look before continuing on. "There is a card that can defeat this monster; it's a complicated summon, but we have all we need here," the boy explained, slowly nodding his head. "Flame Swordsman, Dark Magician... And this," he continued, a small card misting into his hands.

Polyermerization. Those two monsters...

A flaming warrior came to mind, in robes of black with a blade of red. A monster made of shadows... And from their deckmasters.

" _...A fusion summon with yourselves?_ " his friend hissed incredulously, " _Are you completely insane?_ " Katsuya's eyes widened briefly as he ignored the spirit, mind merely going over what he'd just seen as he swallowed. Fusion! Then...

...Just in case that couldn't work...

“...I set three cards!" he shouted, waving his hand forward as three glassy mirrors appeared above the sand to his command. That would make sure nothing too bad happened in the end, but... "Gh... ...Yugi," the blond said quietly, turning to his friend and staring at the polymerization card in his hand. "Th's summon... If it works... What's gonna happen t' us?"

Those who could hear stared in confusion, narrowing their eyes as the shorter of the pair smiled confidently.

"We'll just have to wait and see," he said quietly, still holding the card out for his friend. "As it is, there's little other choice..." Little choice... It was true they were on their last leg...

But to fuse together?!

Katsuya swallowed, looking to the side in unease as snarls echoed from before them. ' _SURRENDER,_ ' they hissed, thundering roars calling about the sky as lightning cracked. ' _Just SURRENDER! Your fighting is FUTILE!_ '

...This was their only shot, he told himself. He knew that much.

"Alrigh'," he said after a moment, taking his friend's hand in his as the polymerization card shattered in their grip. "Let's do this! Let's show these guys they ain't th' only ones who c'n fuse!"

"AH- You guys are going to fuse-aru!?"

The crowd at the side balked, looking among themselves as both duelists slowly turned to face their opponents. "But that... You're just a smaller target if you do that!" Otogi called out with wide eyes.

"Screw smaller targets!" Ren hissed, "What the hell does this guy plus that guy get you anyways?"

The duelists ignored the crowd for the moment, Yugi steadying himself as well as he prepared to make his move, light from the spell already forming around the duo's bodies. "Alright... Let's do this! Activate the spell POLYMERIZATION!" he shouted, a sheet of glass shattering behind him with those words, "Fusing the Dark Magician..."

"With th' Flame Swordsman!" Katsuya finished, a wide vortex appearing as wind swirled around them and blew sand into a curtain to hide them from sight. "AN' AS A RESULT," he continued over the howling winds, "WE SUMMON..." Summon...

They...

He could feel nothing. And everything.

He was there and yet not there, in some strange moment of duality. He was dissolving that much he could tell, and all he could see was a blinding and colourful light before him, blocking the sands of the desert, blocking the night sky...

And suddenly it was as though he was in two places at once, body and soul both. In his body he could feel his hair grow shorter, body more slim than muscled as a resulting illusion of added height came into being. The cloak on his back was no longer made of flames, merely black and red and made of leather. He was wearing a pair of boots, a vest, pants even, and rather than a staff in his hands he felt something else beneath his new pair of elbow length gloves. Yet all the same, he wasn't there at all, and he couldn't feel any of this. He was simply 'light', some sort of 'spirit' hovering at the side, glowing as he stared toward his 'two halves'...

" _This... This is..._ " The spirit form of himself seemed to look over his glowing form in confusion as the body examined his hands in silence. Sprouting from the opposite foot as he did his friend seemed to do the same, looking over one hand as those around them seemed to become aware only of the body before them.

" _...Jonouchi,_ " the voice of the other Yugi called out, a shadowy, black counterpart to the boy staring at him from the other side of the body. " _What-_ "

" _Oh well isn't THIS lovely,_ " the ghost in his mind muttered, likely rolling his eyes as his words echoed into Katsuya's thoughts. " _It's a double connection!_ "

" _Dou- Jonouchi?_ " the other Yugi protested with a slight and shocked scowl as the body shook itself out, " _Who is this?_ "

" _Uhhh..._ " He coughed, turning away somewhat awkwardly as he laughed. " _Hahaha... I'll... Erm, I'll explain later Yugi, I-_ "

" _Jonouchi-kun?_ " the familiar voice that was the 'real' Yugi asked, form unseen despite his obvious presence. " _Is that you? ...Wait, how are we connected?_ " he hurriedly added, partner crossing his arms as he gave his answer.

" _We fused our deckmasters aibou_."

" _Fused- But how does that even work?_ " the boy muttered, " _I mean, if you're here, then-_ "

" _I don't know about you three,_ " the drawling voice of the 'stowaway spirit' muttered, " _But I think we should pay attention to THAT..._ "

The body looked up with those words, eyes widening as their still solidifying form came to meet with a combined blast of fire, water, mire and wind. Shadows as well they noted, the darkness seeming to serve as a 'center pillar' to the attacks.

But that didn't seem to worry them at all they realized, wills and thoughts momentarily merging as they were forced to act. Instead they narrowed their eyes, casting individuality to the side for cooperation as they pushed back into an almost flight-like leap backwards, flipping back in the air to land on their feet a fair distance away on the sand.

"Hn! Nice to see you're patient enough to wait for the end of the turn!" they growled, the dragon ahead choking on their own words as the teen held his weapons ready. "Nervous are we?"

"W-Wh-What... You two... You actually managed to move..!"

Did they really expect anything less? "Y-YUGI! JONOUCHI!" The body turned to look at the crowd at the side, giving a slight saluting wave despite the severe and blank look across their face. The others seemed to freeze at the gesture, nonetheless continuing with their cheers despite it.

"Ah... You guys... Are you alright?" Anzu asked with a swallow, stepping back somewhat under the combined red-eyed stare of her two friends. "Do you feel okay?"

"Jus' fine," they said with a nod, an odd mix of tones, voices and accents both coming through their voice rather than a doubled echo as with the big five. "F'r now though," they continued, "Just sit back... This'll be over in jus' a moment!" they roared, spinning the 'deer horn knives' in their hands off a pair of chains on their wrists. "HA! Time t' attack!"

"ATTACK! Gh- You two... Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?" the dragon snarled, the body before it merely charging forward to kick off the ground and throw one of their knives at the beast. "You cannot face US! You aren't even a light type monster!" it protested with a snarl, body running up the sides of a nearby hill as it gained momentum. Light...

That's right, they weren't light. " _Oii... Yugi, he's got a point,_ " Katsuya muttered with a swallow, the knife they'd thrown digging into the yellowed 'earthen' head at the side after the bladed chain and wire wrapped about the base of its neck. " _If we're a weaker power'd dark monster, how 're we s'pposed t' do this?_ "

Yugi merely smiled, the shadowed spirit charging forward with their body as it pulled on the chain to swing toward the snarling dragon's body. " _Don't worry,_ " he said confidently, the body ducking under blows of wind and mud both as they landed on the monster's back and climbed upward to the shoulders and necks. " _There's a plan here... We'll make it through._ " A plan...

Well. If he said so. He certainly felt just as confident as his friend once those words came, which was interesting given the paranoia he had moments before...

" _HN! Interesting doesn't even cut it Merea! Your minds are merged!_ " the ghost snarled, Katsuya frowning as he pondered the words.

" _Merged..?_ "

" _...Merea?_ " the other Yugi asked as well, their body momentarily hiding behind the mire head as flames and water came from the earthen target's 'back up' force, " _What is..._ "

" _Hn! Look it up,_ " the ghost spat, Katsuya sighing in response as he was pulled back to the conversation.

" _Jus' ignore 'm,_ " the blond muttered, shaking his head. " _He gets pretty testy..._ "

His friend seemed to pause, nodding slowly as he stared to his current partner. " _...I... I see... AH- ...Gh!_ "

With a jolt they were back in the body, kicking off from the mire head with knives in hand as a blast of flames seared the monster's neck with burns. Inflamed cuts oozed with mud and grime, and as they pulled at the chain that had looped its neck the acidic sludge continued to pour from the wound, catching fire with twisted ease whilst the other dragon's watery head served only to further irritate the slice.

"GHH... GH _HAAAAACK... THIS.._. " The earthen head gave strangled roars, their friend's own mouth and throat voicing the cries as his body seemed to suffocate on mere air. "THIS... THIS ISN'T..."

The duo's body smirked as it dodged a physical blow from the metal head on the side, flipping back onto the ravaged neck before pulling his chains taught and free. Blades cut completely through the earth-based beast, and as it fell they jumped off the severed neck with ease. "HEH! You forget!" they shouted clearly, "The reason you need light to fight the Dragon is because that's the only element not making up the beast... Which means," they continued, chains wrapping about the watery head's open mouth to take control of it in an almost 'reign-like' manner, "That as long as I turn your other heads against themselves, I can take you out even before I get that 'light monster! NOW WATCH," the body roared, pulling tight on the chains and forcing the dragon's open mouth to blast toward the flaming one on their side, "AS YOU DESTROY YOURSELVES!"

"Wh- H-HAHA! ALRIGHT-ARU!" Honda barked from the side, hopping on the sand with intermittent yelps. "GOOD THINKING!"

"Hah! If you keep that up there'll only be one head to deal with!" Shizuka continued, Otogi drawing his knives with a nod.

"And if we help out..." Water hosed the fire head down with ease, and with a mighty snap the dragon's maw was dislocated and left hanging limp on useless muscles. One of the chains were retracted, blade pulled from deep inside the water-dragon's now bleeding throat... And as the metal neck snapped forward in an attempt to bite at the teen the second was embedded in its steel jaw, the body falling back to the ground to pull both chains taught as the two captured heads stiffened and struggled in the teen's oddly tight grip.

"GH- T-This... What are you doing?" the dragon muttered in shock, only three of the five voices remaining for the moment. "This is... What are you _DOING_?" It was obvious wasn't it?

But first. "Don't interfere with this battle," they said flatly, looking toward their friends in the corner of their eye as they froze.

"Wh- DON'T help?" Otogi shouted, nonetheless remaining in his hands regardless. "But you don't have a light type monster on hand," he protested, "You'll kill yourselves-"

"We have it covered," they responded, slight confusion and doubt coming from the ghost in Katsuya's mind before instantly being squashed by the sensation of complete assurance from his partner. "Don't worry about us... If anything!" they snarled, pulling tight at the chains as the dragons gave out an agonized roar, "Hope that Honda's body is alright after this!"

"My bo- AHH! WHAT DO YOU MEAN-ARU!"

There was no answer as the two dragon's heads were snapped from the body, the only thing attaching them now being scales of metal and shagreen both while the dragon was forced to its stomach. Gripping the chains tight in their hands the body ran forward to hop onto the monster, the necks before it forming a crossed bridge of sorts as they jumped to the middle point. With one step the knives were removed from the necks, chains retracting as they shredded the insides of the now defeated heads. With a second they leaped off the mid-point of the dragon's necks, eyes narrowed in determination as they looked forward at the final target.

"Daimon!" they announced, the shadowed head reeling back to charge a blast of the very element creating it, "This is it!"

"HN! I couldn't agree more... But it certainly isn't MY end! NYCTO!" he roared, the black flames blasting forward to set the body on fire as it fruitlessly brought its arms up in a block, "Let the 'night' take you to hell itself!" Gh... This was it...

" _Yer plan... I really hope it works!_ " he shouted with a grimace, the body blasted back into an arc as it seemed to almost flip backward in the air in a ball of black and violet flames. " _Cause if it doesn'..._ " And if they died... " _GH... Nghh..._ "

"GHHAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

" _Just hold on!_ " his friend called out through the pain of the flames, body's screams rising in volume before fading out as they fell through the air. " _It'll only last a moment... Hold on, this is it!_ " This was it. This...

This was...

Darkness met his vision, and his feeling vanished. Endless darkness in his sight and around his body, and for a moment he was himself again. He was standing in nothing but an empty black space, unable to see even himself amid the blankness.

And then the sensation of duality again returned.

As he looked over his body, the form landing to its feet in a burst of light and sand on the field, his eyes briefly widened. " _Ah... AHH! I'm short!_ " he wailed, spirit-form gripping his head as the body curiously looked himself over.

Yugi frowned somewhat, the body still largely hidden from view by the sand and flames scattered from the attack. " _HN! Really- Just because I haven't reached five feet yet..._ "

" _Are you even going to?_ " snorted the 'stowaway ghost', both Yugi's growling in response.

" _That- Hey! How do you even know how tall we are!?_ " the original Yugi snarled, his other seeming to tense and nod in response.

" _AH- That's right,_ " he shouted, eyes narrowed, " _Just who exactly are you?!_ "

" _Errr... Focus on th' battle?_ " Katsuya offered awkwardly, the others 'turning' despite two of the three not truly being present. A small bit of silence resulted, before the other Yugi grit his teeth and nodded.

" _Right... Let's go,_ " he muttered, before the body was again within their control and smirking wickedly.

"Time to 'duel'." The smoke and sands cleared as the crowd stared, jaws dropping as the impossible met their vision. Katsuya was right; the body was shorter now, about Yugi's own height rather than the 5'8'' of his friend. His hair however, was still his own length; an interesting effect actually, given its attempts to mimic that of Yugi's usually shorter and gravity defiant style, not to mention the tan and eyes that came from neither form. That however wasn't the point, and as he gripped the flat of the gold, saw-blade like disk they'd received in one hand the competitive smirk on his face grew even further.

"Im... IMPOSSIBLE!" Daimon roared, the dragon rearing back in shock as its single shadowed head stared at the boy. "HOW! You should have died!"

Chuckling came through the air, eyes shining with the light so recognized from that of the 'light' Yugi and Katsuya both. "Hehehe... Yeah... In fact, we did die!" they shouted up with a grin, shrugging somewhat as they continued to laugh. "But when the Dark Flare Knight is destroyed," they continued seriously, "Two things happen; one, no damage is taken from the battle... And two!" they announced, pulling the discus back and charging toward the monster with a triumphant shout, "The Mirage Knight is summoned in its place!"

"But... But even as a Light monster you're still less powerful!" the monster snarled desperately, two limp and severed necks dragging uselessly as it backed away.

Well... "You would think!" the boy shouted loudly, jumping forward to push off of the very set card the dragon had placed in a sheet of glass before him, "But you're wrong! Because _We_ have our own ability!" they chorused, the blade in their hand glowing with power as they pulled it back. "And when we attack, we gain the power of our opponent! SO DAIMON!" they roared, throwing the weapon forward in a flash of light as the body itself was thrown back in the force. "HERE'S TO THE END! FROM DARK TO LIGHT... _HELIOS_!"

The attack from the blade was blinding, just as its namesake the sun. In a single cut the dragon was split in two, shadows filling the air as their body landed and skidded back on the ground, torrents of sand and air blowing past them as the monster screamed and as glass shattered. An odd feeling came over him. Splitting, separating...

And as the body cut in two, misting into two halves, each of the boys found themselves taking a rasping and shocked breath in reaction to the sudden return of their own forms and functioning selves.

"Hhaaahh! Hah... Ah... Hah... T... T-Tha'..." Katsuya choked, turning to the side as Yugi looked toward him with a similar expression.

"That feeling," he muttered, looking over his hand and staring at the blond. "...I..."

The rest of their words were left unsaid, a single look being all that was needed in light of the strange sensation on the air. The feeling of intense unity and cooperation beyond natural human means... The complete fusion, the joint movements their minds had taken without a second thought...

The two looked forward, still breathing raggedly as the light slowly cleared. Any second now he told himself, waiting for it to fade to black. Any moment, and the duel would...

"Oh _HELL_ no!" Katsuya roared, a sudden flash of a card's information coming to mind as the earlier shattered trap was activated.

"Deal with the Dark Ruler! _"_ his partner hissed, tensing and drawing back as cackling came over the air around them.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... We aren't through just yet," a maddening mixture of tones hissed, single body walking forward as they paled. It was Honda's body, that was true... But all the same it wasn't, and simply couldn't in any way have been their friend. Skin had closed tight over the body, tinged blue with necrosis as smoke and ash seeped from his mouth. Hair had taken a greyed tone and mixed with the colours of poison, and from empty sockets came a shadowed and inhuman glow as the body slumped and walked forward.

' _Oh my god,_ ' others behind them were whispering. ' _Oh my god he looks DEAD!_ '

' _I... Is that... My body?_ ' Honda was muttering with a whine, the opponents to the approaching being growing white with dread as a black cloak flapped almost like wings on the body's back. No...

Far worse.

"As you can see," the teen rasped, "I activated my trap... When a level eight or higher monster on my side of the field is destroyed," the Big 5 explained with a chuckle, "I can summon forth the Berserk Dragon in its place..." Berserk dragon...

Katsuya grit his teeth, watching as the sand beneath the teen's feet seemed to blacken and harden into cold rock with each step. The very air around their opponent smelled dead, reeked of decay... And as the monstrous form of their 'friend' began to charge a blast of flames it his mouth, head snapping back to take aim he could hear Yugi's panicked shout from the side.

_'I cast the spell Magical Hats!_ ' he announced, complete and utter darkness settling in over the blond as the hats filled the field, Katsuya swallowing in unease while the boy continued. ' _In addition,'_ he was saying, _'I pay 1000 lifepoints to spread its effects to my partner! End turn!_ ' Eight hats...

They were covered with eight hats, leaving only a 2 in 8 shot of hitting them. To his sides he could see six lights to correspond with those hats, along with the stiff and battle ready form of his friend and yet...

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Then, let us share with you _OUR_ ability," their opponent sneered, a shudder passing through the air as one of the hats was destroyed and the light furthest from the boys extinguished. "Because while you hide in a series of four 'hats'... We can attack FOUR TIMES PER TURN!" FOUR?

Oh hell... "You're fucking kidding me," he hissed, falling back in his hat as angry protests sounded from behind, a rush of flames passing over the second hat in Yugi's row. This...

If they could attack all four hats at once... ' _There's a 100% chance someone will die,_ ' he could hear someone shout, Katsuya's own eyes wide as he attempted to think of a plan. _'It's hopeless..! Hopeless..!_ ' This...

No it wasn't.

" _...You're going to do something stupid aren't you?_ " the ghost in his mind grumbled, a nervous smirk coming over Katsuya's face. Heh...

He knew him!

"It ain't 100 percent if I do this righ'?" he 'asked', before the expression fell. And just how was he going to do this he asked himself, the sounds of another hat's destruction coming through the air. He knew he had to do something but how...

How...

The third hat had been destroyed. And with wide eyes he swallowed, turning toward where his friend stood as the next blast was fired.

No other choice!

"Act'vate Silver Dollar!" he shouted, jumping through the hat as the trap was formed in reaction to his next words, "An' take th' attack!"

Suddenly, he could hear clearly again.

"HAT NUMBER FOUR!" the big 5 were snarling, the body's mouth not moving with his words. "DIE, MUTOU YUGI!"

He could feel everything again... And yet the moment he escaped the hat, his vision was filled with flames. His body felt weightless, formless, and it seemed his legs were only half there as the final hat was destroyed. And on the field the flames in his own vision filled Yugi's as well...

But for completely different reasons as the smoke cleared in his wake to reveal the flaming spectre shielding him.

"J... Jonouchi," he whispered, his friend saying nothing as he absorbed the Berserker's flames. "You..."

"Jonouchi," the others whispered from the side, staring in shock as flames evaporated from his form and into the air.

"Nihan..." "J-Jonouchi..."

He realized only then that he hadn't opened his eyes. There were shouts...

"Impossible... IT'S IMPOSSIBLE, HOW! "

For a moment, he didn't answer, focusing on the mere act of blinking as he found himself staring upward. As he merely looked down to stare over himself, hovering in the air in flames and nothing but flames as his legs melted out of sight. Fire... He was, quite literally, a giant flame, a burning figure and shade hovering before his friends like some great glowing wall. Nothing but fire...

Well- he supposed that would make this easier then. The blond smirked, fires whirling around his friend as he rose somewhat in the air with crossed arms. "Hehehehehe... Miss th' trap I activated?" he asked with a smirk, the almost mummified being before them gritting their yellowed and sharpened dragons teeth as they scowled. "'Silver Dollar'! Negates an attack against any monsters weaker th'n 1000 points... An' thanks t' earlier," he continued, waving a flamed staff with his hand as he explained, "Tha' works f'r me too... ...Yugi," the blond added with a wink, looking down with a two fingered salute as the boy stared. "We're ev'n now, got it? Hehehehe..."

"J-Jonouchi... I..." Come on...

So he was a giant glowing ghost, this wouldn't be too bad right? "Gh- You little... GH- Kach!" the body before them shuddered, gripping their stomach as blood spurted from their mouth. "Gh... Hah... Hah..."

The others turned forward again, eyebrows raising in disgusted surprise. "H-Hey... What's going on with my body-aru?"

"You mean more than that?" Ren asked bluntly, the serpent's eyes wide as his partner stared. "Well considering they haven't done anything... How could that be happening?"

The boys on the field stared, Yugi narrowing his eyes. "This... What's going on?" he asked them, the body looking up with eye-less, glowing sockets and growling in agitation.

"Tch... Our time is limited," they spat, slowly pulling themselves back up to a slouched fighting stance as they walked. "Hahn... Each turn... Our attack diminishes by 500 points... Hnnngh..." It went down...

So then, from the thirty-five hundred they had...

A grin slowly appeared on Katsuya's face, the blond chuckling as the flames he was made of leaped in anticipation. "Oooh... So you only have 3000 attack now nyh? Hehehehe... Hnhn _HEHEHE_... Yugi!" he shouted, looking down as the boy returned the stare, his own expression quite blank compared to his partner's wicked grin. "Y' think you c'n handle th's next plan 'f mine?"

His friend narrowed his eyes somewhat at that, as though attempting to guess at what the blond was talking about. Within just a moment however his eyes widened in realization, and as he nodded as Katsuya's leg-less form seemed to encompass the air above his friend in a blanket of flames. "I'm ready, Jonouchi," he said clearly, the blond nodding as he held his arms out. "Go for it!"

"Alrigh' then! ACT'VATE TH' SPELL KNIGHT'S TITLE!" he announced, the final panel of glass on the side shattering as the boy before it was coated in a blinding light of sorts. "TURNIN' TH' DARK MAGICIAN... IN'T TH' DARK MAGICIAN KNIGHT! YUGI!" he roared, fires melting into the boy's shadow as his friends armor altered and shifted into the robes of the monk class, "I'M GIVIN' Y' ALL MY POWER NOW... IT'S UP T' YOU!"

"Thank you!" the boy said in response, his opponent frozen in the presence of the sudden upgrade. "Jonouchi," he continued, split black cloak flapping in the wind as he gripped the sharpened disks he received in place of his boomerang. "I couldn't have done this without you! NOW THEN!" He charged, the teen before them hurriedly bringing up a pair of dusted revolvers in defense as Yugi struck with the first blade, "WE WIN! _RUNIC STRIKE!_ " he roared, bringing his second blade down onto the opponent's pistols to break through both them and the body holding them.

The body stumbled backward under the blow as the blade severed his throat and cut at his chest, ragged coughs filling the air. The deckmaster began to fade. The body repaired itself and healed, and as it fell to its knees Yugi and the flaming form of his friend watched from just a few feet or so away. The sky had cleared, and once again there was a dull sun shining above them...

But even with that they were left in a barren wasteland, a destroyed ruin with no proof of their existence save their friends and the ruined truck at the side. "...'Big 5'!" Yugi snarled, eyes narrowed as his own outfit reverted to that of the original 'ranger' he'd picked. "We won... Now, return the body!" he demanded, shouts of elation and demand both echoing behind them as the others ran over.

"Rrrr _rrraOUR_! That's right aru!" Honda yelped, skidding to a slight stop at the boy's side. "Fork it over!"

"There's no arguin' now," the blond above them all added with a sneer, arms crossed from his position in mid-air as he continued to flame.

For a moment the body merely sat there, slumped on his knees in what looked to be shame. In an instant however black eyes looked up, the possessed teen stepping back to spit at the ground before their feet. "The day we give up this body," they sneered, shadow stretching and splitting into five as the body took a fighting stance, "Will be a cold day in HELL! H _RAAAAAHHH_!"

As the shadows charged Kastuya grit his teeth, darting forward with a snarl. He'd need legs for this, he told himself, cutting the flaming staff through the darkness with a shout before charging the body. Fires would do nothing, he needed a body.

And in a split second that demand was answered, a swift round house delivering a solid blow to Honda's human face as he re-materialized from the flames to land on the ground. "HN! Bastards... Y' jus' can't stay down can y'?" he growled, the teen that had been sent back merely wiping a bit of blood from his jaw as he snarled.

"Gh... You'd be surprised, the determination of a dead man," they spat, only for their face to drain of colour.

"No... I don't think they would," an additional voice muttered, the crowd below freezing as Noa's voice echoed through the air. Noa...

He wasn't anywhere to be seen and yet they knew he was there, somehow, watching...

"How sad," the boy sneered, the Big 5 looking over 'their' body in horror as it suddenly began to crumble to dust before their very eyes. "After all these chances you still turn your backs... I'm done with you," he spat, the body giving slight and panicked screams as the dust in its throat prevented it from increasing in volume to a wail of terror. "Leave here..."

"Hah... H-Haaah... No," they whispered, shaking their head as they fell to their knees, legs nothing but mounds of dust and sand as their palms collapsed on themselves with their eyes. "No... N-"

With a final terrified cry the body crumbled forward, nothing but a pile of whitish sand remaining in its place before the horrified crowd. They were gone. Gone...

"They... He took the body," Anzu whispered, shaking her head as still wide eyes looked at the field. "We won, but they..."

"Gh... Damn it...! Even when we win we don' win!" Katsuya cursed, kicking at the sand with a scowl as he turned back.

"Rouuu-rrrrrrrn... N-Not fair-aru... Am I seriously going to be stuck here?" Honda whined, before giving a surprised bark as Shizuka picked him up from behind.

"Don't worry Honda-han," she said with a sad smile, scratching behind the puppy's ear as he 'melted' somewhat. "We'll definitely get it back... Right?" she added, the puppy seeming to give a comforted growl in her arms as the group nodded.

"Definitely," Otogi said with a determined stare, looking toward the now cracked and 'cliff' ridden road. "As it is," he continued with a swallow, "There's only one way to go now..."

"After Kaiba," Ren muttered, the others swallowing as they stared.

"Right..." Yugi again switched places with his opposite half, hair neatening out to a slight extent as the boy sheathed his blade and looked forward. "In that case," he continued, running over to the truck at the side to attempt to set it right, "Let's not waste time..!"

"Good plan," his friend responded, running forward with his staff in hand. "An' while we're at it, le's find th' creep who got 's in th's mess!"

* * *

The 'creep' as it were would not likely be found by those looking for him despite all wishes at the moment, regardless of how far the others travelled and regardless of how detailed the map on their current transport was. His location after all was beyond even the limits of 'out of range', not even truly existing within the realm of the virtual world. He was simply in another area...

As was the boy beside him, who was standing at that moment in mostly white clothing in contrast to the black garb he'd worn prior. Mokuba's eyes felt heavy, in all honesty. It felt almost as though he were desperately fighting off sleep, as though he were wandering half-awake in a crazed dream. But this wasn't a dream either he told himself whenever that thought should occur. It was real, very real, and for now it would be best to watch as his big brother Noa berated his employees.

If they could even be called that.

Painful memories were tied to these people, memories that in his desire to forget them Noa had done just that. All he saw of the five before him was a haze... And a man with white hair, with an eye of gold. There was no more pain in his memories save a slight burn that told him not to dig further, and it was that slight burn that kept him from touching the very things he'd asked to be locked away.

"Noa-sama," the men were rasping, on their knees from the fall they'd collapsed to in the darkness. "Noa-sama," they pleaded, "We-"

"Hnnnn... How pathetic these losers are, are they not?" Noa asked, Mokuba nodding in agreement. He wasn't sure why of course, but doubtless that anyone who cringed on the ground like this matched his brother's description. The nod was more than enough for his brother as well, and the light haired boy turned back to his victims with a cruel smirk as they cowered at his feet. "Really... Scum like this doesn't even deserve to live..."

The men before them paled, drawing back with wide eyes in the face of their disappointed employer. "H-Hahh... N-Noa-sama," Oshita cried, the old man shaking his head. "Please! We beg you, grant us one more chance! Just one more!"

"One more? You've wasted your chances," the boy snarled, silencing the men with the wave of a hand as they clamped their mouth shut. "Did you honestly think you could escape? That you would even WIN?" he laughed, the ones before him paling in realization with those words. " _NOTHING_ is real here," he sneered, turning to leave with his brother as a menacing grin came on his face. "Not even my words to you..."

"Not... Noa... NOA!" the men roared, charging forward, realizing only now how much they'd been toyed with. "YOU PATHETIC LITTLE BRAT-"

Sounds cut short before vanishing into a mist and leaving nothing behind, the men abruptly turning into naught but echoes on the air as they were reduced to the data they had arrived as. "Hn! Kisara and Seraph can deal with you five," Noa muttered, a silent breeze seeming to pass through the realm in response. "I'm sure they'll find a way to efficiently scatter those pesky 'permanent files' of yourselves that remain. For now... We have a show to watch, don't we?" he said cheerfully, turning to Mokuba as the boy frowned. Something was bugging him...

'Little', they'd said. The men had said... 'Little' when talking about his 'big' brother.

"...Niichan?" he said almost blandly, his brother's smile faltering as the boy's eyes drifted downward somewhat. "You're my 'big brother', right?" he asked, the smile hurriedly replaced.

"Of course! Of course I am," Noa said quickly, "How could you ask such a thing?" How could he? That was a good question...

But as Noa placed two hands on his shoulders, before moving to his side to guide him away, he remembered why- even as the burn in his mind re-appeared.

"...Niichan... If you're my big brother," he asked quietly, "...Then why am I taller than you?"

Noa grew pale when he heard those words, smile dropping in what was dully recognized as fear. Taller...

Mokuba was taller than him by a full two inches, how had he possibly missed that the boy asked himself with a swallow, attempting to clear the data running in his mind. Well... _He_ hadn't even missed it he reminded himself, he'd simply worked around it, worked around everything that made Mokuba the brother he was, to preserve as much as possible.

He was paying for it now. And badly at that. Taller...

He couldn't alter this boy's memories, no matter how easy it was to do, it would ruin everything otherwise! Yet looking into the minds of those in the realm, and the mind of the one before him, he sought to find a solution. Something, anything...

And then it struck him. He...

He was only short because of the body he held, because of the age he _appeared_ to be. The form that he had held since his death, since his funeral, down to his 'last clothes' he'd been buried in. The white suit that he'd refused to trade for a 'kimono' after that day. Why though...

Why did he bother with such a thing, with such an attachment to his body? He hadn't even done it for humanity's sake, otherwise he'd have aged. So then was it in a stubborn will to live, or was it in a frightened attempt to hold on?

Well, none of that really mattered right, so why fight age now? He was supposed to be an adult now, 21 going on 22, able to drink, live on his own, drive...

Anything he wanted, and no one could argue. He wasn't a 'boy'.

He was a young man, and with all his knowledge why not accept that? Yes...

As these thoughts came to mind he smirked, calculations running through his mind, through his former body's genetic code, through timing and growth... And as he did this his body began to shift, changing from out of his 'brother's sight. Clothes became more adult like to match a growing body, neatly combed hair just slightly changing in style as he came to a full two feet beyond his former height. Facial features sharpened... Muscles toned, eyes narrowed to fit the face, and as Mokuba looked back the now young man leaned over to whisper comfortably in the boy's ear, a hand on his 'brother's shoulder.

"Now Mokuba," he said quietly, the boy staring in silence as the seemingly familiar voice continued. "Since when was I shorter than you?" he asked carefully.

"Ah..." The boy stared, narrowing his eyes. "I... But you..."

"I've always looked like this," he 'reminded' the boy, slowly taking his hand in his own with a smile. "Remember..? Always..."

Silence came over the boy, and slowly Mokuba nodded with a slight smile. "Right... Always," he repeated, his 'brother' standing up to lead him away.

"Good... Now, shall we go see your sister?" he asked, the boy at his side freezing.

"...Sister..?" Noa held silent for a moment, simply continuing to guide his 'brother' through the dark of a subway station as Mokuba looked up in confusion. "...I don't have a sister, niichan. You're mistaken..."

"Yes... Of course I am," he chuckled, shaking his head. "I was thinking of our cousin; he looks enough like a girl doesn't he?" the man continued, his 'brother' nodding in agreement despite not knowing of the 'cousin' Noa spoke of. "Yes..." No sisters...

And as the pair appeared in the car of a train, invisible to all those that could possibly reach that location, Noa smirked wickedly.

' _I win..._ '


	17. Guard Protocol

The train ride took far longer than it could have, moving from one reach of cyberspace to the next. As the creator of this world he could have easily just moved to the correct location in an instant of course, but rather than that they simply sat in the representation of both reality and dreams, in the purely private train car built into the hull of a monorail meant solely for amusement park transport. The hull of a dragon-shaped train with white steel coating. For the moment there was nothing to see in the windows beside them, which were likely the only flaws in the snake-like 'dragon's design. They weren't really moving after all, merely under the impression of movement, floating along in darkness... But for the moment they had nowhere to go, or at least they wouldn't until Seto reached the designated location.

Along with the end of any hopes and comforts she still held.

Noa smirked as he leaned back in their booth, Mokuba leaning against him to stare at the television screen before them. "Niichan?" the boy was asking, appearing to not really care for whatever it was they were watching for the moment, "Why are we doing this?"

"Hn..? Doing what," he asked, despite already knowing just what it was the boy was thinking.

Mokuba shrugged, shaking his head as he watched what appeared to be a young woman in red traversing a ruined land. "Watching this..."

"Because... This woman wants to separate us, and hurt us," he explained smoothly, his 'brother' not once doubting his words. "We need to create a trap for her," the man continued with calming tones, "And make sure she doesn't even come close to succeeding in her goals."

There was no question as to what those goals were, Mokuba merely nodding as he fell silent. "Oh... ...Niichan?" he said after a moment, narrowing his eyes and turning to the man beside him as he frowned. "Why does she look like you?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully, shaking his head. He probably never would, given how much research he'd done into a family tree that traced generations back with no connections. That, however, did not matter here. "We may never know," he told Mokuba after a moment. "But you need to be careful," the man added, "As this woman will try everything to take my place, just like she took 'Tousan', understand? You can't listen to anything she says," Noa continued, further encouraging the seeds of doubt he'd planted long ago. "No matter what she claims to know about the house, about Kuma, or-"

"Or Yuki?" Mokuba asked worriedly, his brother hiding a smirk with ease at the mention of an apparently treasured pet.

"Yes... Like Yuki," he whispered, feeding off the memory of the second horse as fear momentarily rose in his 'brother's eyes. "You don't want her to take Yuki either, right?"

A short span of silence again arose, before Mokuba nodded. "...R... Right..." Again the boy fell silent, the screen briefly changing and flashing to an alternate scene as Noa checked in on the others in his realm. "...Niichan?" he asked quietly, his brother not turning back.

"Yes..?"

The boy pointed toward the screen, the scene of a moving truck of sorts clearly visible across it. "Who is that?" he asked, looking to the blond that was turning from the end of a road to shout at those he'd been transporting seconds before the vehicle had stopped. "...He seems familiar..." Famil-

Noa briefly tensed, before easily calming himself to fix the brief 'slip' in memory Mokuba was developing. He could not let him remember these people he told himself, silently easing in a short 'lie' to appease the curiosity. He simply could not let that happen...

"You met in passing once," he said calmly, Mokuba seeming to frown as his brother continued. "But you can't trust him either," he warned, narrowing his eyes. "After all... If he finds us," he whispered almost threateningly, "Then she will follow..."

And in the darkness of the train car Mokuba again nodded, completely unwilling to argue with his older 'brother' on the subject of those who would take him away.

* * *

If either of the two Noa had warn against known what sorts of things Mokuba was being told, their moods would quite likely have been far more negative than they already were. As it was while Seto was somewhere off in the distance walking in silent rage, Katsuya was already less than pleased when their 'map' just about led them off the side of the cliff.

The fact was, as the blond found himself slamming on the breaks with a shout, he was fairly certain that the cliff hadn't been there a few seconds prior.

"HAAHH! Gh- What th' hell!" he shouted, vehicle skidding to a turned stop just a centimetre or so from the edge. "Where th' hell did tha' come from!"

"Where did what come from?" came an annoyed shout in the back, Ren momentarily quarantined to a jar they'd found on board. "Someone lift me!"

Though the request was quite ignored the others nonetheless peered over the trailer's edge, drawing back with nervous swallows as they looked down the sheer drop. "A-Ahh... The road is gone!" Yugi shouted with a swallow, looking back to the snake as it swallowed from behind the glass. "G-Gone!"

"Gh- Oii! You guys!" he roared, turning back as he killed the engine on the truck. "What is this? I thought y' said that map would work," he snarled, the others scratching their heads. The 'guys' in question, Otogi and Shizuka, merely shrugged- each one pulling a face as they stared at the map before them.

"We're just as confused as you are," the older of the two said with a frown, crossing his arms as he looked to the table before him. "It was fine until the moment you stopped; once you did that though," he continued almost nervously, gesturing to the screen, "It... Well... Stopped."

"Ah... Stopped?" Anzu repeated from the back, having momentarily convinced Yugi to come with to give her 'partner' some air from the jar. "What do you mean 'stopped'?"

Shizuka as well frowned, leaning somewhat on her spear as her brother moved to hop out of the truck and look at the map himself. "The map went completely clear," she said quietly, shaking her head as Katsuya leaned over the side and stared. "Almost as though it never existed to begin with..."

Hn! "Well ain't that jus' convenient," he muttered, a slight whine coming from Honda as the dog moaned.

"Mannnn," he groaned, rubbing his snout as he whined. "And here I thought we were getting somewhere-aru..."

"Tell me about it," Ren added from the side, ignoring the puppy's growl as he realized the serpent was roaming 'free' again. "This is worse than you guy's 'quarantining' me in a jar..."

Ah, but he wasn't in a jar now, he just wasn't allowed near Anzu. "Hn... I still don't see why he's supposed to be 'quarantined'," his partner added in quotes, crossing her arms as the others turned to look back at the woman. "Is it really that much for the snake to be sitting on my shoulder?"

"Well... Not to put it rudely," Shizuka said with a swallow, both of the 'partners' looking her way as she bowed her head, "You were scary out there..."

"Yeah; it was like watching the 'Other-Bakura'-aru! Or even that 'other Malik' that showed up," Honda continued, a few of the others shuddering in response. It would be best not to even think of that...

"Malik... Right," the woman muttered, holding her head as the others stared. This, as well, was becoming a bit of a sore point; apparently Anzu couldn't remember what happened on the airship. Which meant she didn't know 'Namu' was Malik (not to say she didn't now)...

Or about the increasing number of casualties on board.

"Hahhhh..." Anzu sighed, sitting back down as she frowned. "I just... I don't even remember all of this! So just what does that mean?" she protested, those before her sharing a look. Well...

"It means," Katsuya said with a cough, "That yer probably still bein' manipulated by a psychopath, an' until we get proof y' ain't," he continued, "We gotta take precautions!"

Anzu's jaw dropped, the snake's falling as well. "Are... Are you SERIOUS?!" she protested. "You're going to cast me out like some black sheep?!"

"Oi oi, we didn't say that-aru, just don't touch the snake..."

"Right! It's not about you! And... Well, it's not like we'll be here much longer right," Shizuka added nervously, holding out her hands in defense as the other woman scowled.

A few sighs hit the air as their friend continued to glare at them in betrayal, before Otogi and Shizuka returned to 'fixing' the map and Honda stared at 'Ren'. "...Anzu..." The woman looked up from where she'd again fallen silent, Yugi coming over to sit by her with a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry... That you can't remember anything, and that we're doing this," the boy began, momentarily turning away to look to the trailer floor. "But you know Anzu, we still trust you," he said confidently, a smile over his face as Ren blinked. "Just make sure you know that- we would never think that you would turn on us, or attack us! Because you're our friend, understand?"

"Ah... Yugi..."

"Hey... He's righ', got that?" Katsuya muttered from the front. "Jus' cause I said 'pr-cautions' doesn' mean we don' trust you; we jus' don' want y' flippin' out when y' don't realize it."

"Ah..."

"...Hey, what about me?" Ren asked from the side, receiving a loud snarl in response.

"GH- You're the problem-ARU!"

"AHHHH, so harsh!"

"Hahhh..."

While Yugi found himself uncomfortably stuck between arguments as he went to separate the again bickering snake and hound Katsuya sighed, looking back to the map and smacking it with his staff as he scowled. There was no response, none whatsoever from the device; it merely gleamed dully in the sunlight, giving off painful sparks as those near it jumped back.

"Tch! Damn it... We're gettin' nowhere w' this," he muttered, the others biting their lips as the blond continued to huff and growl. "Gotta be some other way t' get there..."

"If there was," his sister added with a frown, "We'd likely have encountered it by now..."

"And it's not like we can just look for another path either," Otogi muttered, gesturing to the chasm before them. "If Kaiba really did just keep going straight we'd have found him by now, or at least his foot prints. There's no wind here," the teen explained shortly, "So they'd have remained just as long." Hnnnnggg...

Short yelps caught his attention, Katsuya blinking as Yugi struggled to hold a snarling Honda away from Ren. "ROU! ROUR-ROU-ROU! LET ME AT HIM-ARU! RA _OUR! RAOUFF!_ "

"G-HNG... Honda-kun!" the boy wailed, ducking back from the open and frankly nauseating 'mouth' as he clung to the dog's collar. "Can't this wait!"

"ROUR! R _OUF AOUF AOUF_!" Barking was Yugi's only answer for the moment, the boy wincing with each one as the dog scrambled. "RNNNN... NO! NO IT CAN'T-ARU, I'm gonna SLICE HIM T SHREDS!"

"Oh come on," the snake snorted from just below the puppy's 'wires', "You've been threatening me all day, and I've still yet to see you act on them... Ah-"

"REN," Anzu hissed, pulling the snake out of Honda's reach as the dog bolted forward, "You really aren't helping right now..."

"Hey, he started it," her partner protested, Katsuya rolling his eyes and leaning over the trailer wall as the bickering continued.

"H-Honda-kun..!"

"ROU-ROU-ROU-ROU-R! _Y-RF!_ " The dog was abruptly grabbed by the tail and pulled from Yugi's grip, the others staring as Katsuya pulled the dog over and upside down to stare at him. "Y-Rourr? J-Jonouchi," Honda protested, receiving a somewhat blank stare as he was pulled out of the trailer. "What are you doing-aru?"

The blond merely poked at the inside of the puppy's 'head', narrowing his eyes as the wires and mouth-panels each drew back and shuddered. "Jus' want y' to know tha' I completely understand this not bein' yer choice," he said plainly, the others raising their eyebrows as the dog went largely limp.

"No- A-rour! What does that even have to do with this?" he growled, shaken somewhat until he fell quiet. "Rrnn!"

Katsuya switched his grip, grabbing the dog by the tendrils of its head and spinning him slightly as the dog protested angrily. "Well," he said with a shrug, ignoring the yelps and growls coming as he shook the dog rather violently in circles, "Way I figure," the blond said plainly, "We can' jus' sit here an' wait f'r somethin' t' get us righ'? So with you here-"

"With me- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT-ARU! THIS HAS NOTHING TO WITH ME-ARU NOW PUT ME DOWN!" he snarled, shaking momentarily stopping as the panel seemed to extend. "GRA _AAAAAAAAAA-_ " The dog was dropped without another word, Ren approaching from the side to peer into the puppy's 'head'. "R-Rouuurrrrrr... Dizzy... ...And what the hell-aru! What are you going on about!"

"Well think about it," the snake said with a grin, Honda turning as the serpent drew closer. "Your body was made here right? And it's a robot..."

"Ah- Which means there might be some sort of source code to get us out," Otogi realized, before frowning as Ren slithered into a snarling Honda's head. "AH- Hey!" he shouted, leaning over the trailer wall. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Helping," the snake responded, the dog's head snapping shut on impulse as he began to growl and claw at where the snake likely was. "Besides," his muffled voice continued rather flatly, "Not like you care if I die anyways right? I'll be doing all of you a favor!" Erm...

"R-Ren! It's not like that!" Anzu protested, Otogi scratching his head. "They don't think you're-"

"Ah... Actually, it kind of is 'like that'," he muttered. "After all, he-" The teen hurriedly cut off as Anzu leered at him, before nervously hopping out of the trailer to laugh. "Ahahaha... I'm only being honest; the fact is," he explained with a swallow, "Those weird 'fits' you had only happened while you were in contact with that snake, and-"

"Otogi-han," Shizuka coughed, the woman before them growing more and more tense with each word. "I would stop..."

"...Yeah... That sounds like a plan," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck before turning as an echoed voice again cut the air.

"Dang Honda, how deep does this thing go?" Ren muttered, the puppy seeming to jump with those very words.

"Gh-! ERFF!" The others turned as the dog in question shook himself, scratching at his head in anger before seeming to roll and run about uncontrollably. "Ge- Knock it off-ARU! It might not be real-aru but that doesn't mean you mess around in there!" he snarled, dragging himself over the ground as he growled. "Seriously-aru, stop!"

"Whatever~" Niiiice... Really mature there 'Ren'. "So what do you think we'll find," the snake continued, still ignoring the snarls and growls. "A secret map, a tracking system..."

"How about you just get OUT-aru!" A sudden click entered the air, the dog's body locking up into the 'default' and 'muzzled' appearance they'd found prior as the lights of his eyes flicker flickered.

"That work?" Ren called out, the others staring as the dog appeared to quiver slightly. Er...

"I... I think y' jus' BROKE 'm!" Katsuya shouted, hurriedly grabbing the stiffened dog and shaking it. "H-HEY! H-Honda," he shouted in panic, "Snap outta it man!"

"HEY! I'm still in here, cut that out!"

"Wake up Honda, wake up!"

"Seriously!" Ren wailed, the dog still being shaken wildly as Katsuya swung the thing around by its tail. "Stop that, I don't know how many switches I'll-"

' _-click-_ '

"Hit."

"Ah?" The dog's head opened immediately, each individual tendril pointing forward as Katsuya dropped the animal to the ground.

"-Assault Mode Activated,-" the dog announced, each tendril charging a laser of sorts as Ren ducked amid the wires and panels. "-Multi-Target Mode-" M-Multi..!

The dog seemed to hover in the air, chasing after the blond as he paled. "AHHHHHHH REN! What the hell kind of switch did you push!" he roared, those in the trailer ducking as a few rays of light blew past them.

"I don't know," Ren cried, the serpent in question hanging from a panel on the dog's neck with a panicked expression in his eyes. "Just tell me how to stop this thing!"

_-ssssf! Sssssf ssssf_

"Ahhhhh..!" Duck, jump left right left left... DAMMIT! "Guuuuuyyyyyyss!" The others hopped out of the trailer as the futile game of 'cat and mouse' continued from a distance, staring in silence for a few moments before Yugi coughed.

"E- Ah... Did you try looking for an 'emergency' button," he asked, the snake tightening its coils before responding.

"E-Emergency..?"

"WELL IT'S A GOOD TIME!" Katsuya roared, ducking another series of blasts while the snake nodded furiously.

"R-Right! Uh... Emergency, emergency..." Ren slipped between the cracks in the panels, disappearing into the wires. "...AH... Ahh... OH! 'E'," he shouted, ducking further into the head as the lasers cut short. "Hah! There we- GH-!"

Katsuya jumped as the dog's system again locked up, head closing in as it returned to the ground before opening once more. "Hhaaah! That-"

The wires again flailed, each grabbing at Ren before throwing him back. "What the..!"

-Emergency Mode Active-, came the robotic cry once again, panels around the collar opening in a satellite-like fashion as it continued to 'shout'. -EMERGENCY MODE ACTIVE-

The others moved to walk over, eyes wide as each 'tentacle' in the dog's mouth arranged themselves in a pattern. One cable went up, another went down, another braided in some strange intricate formation... Others spread wide, until the entire thing resembled some odd flower. "What is this?" Anzu whispered, her snake moving toward her only to be picked up by a frowning Otogi as it hissed.

"Quarantine," he reminded the snake, Ren merely spitting as the others stared.

"SFFFFFF I'll show you 'quaran-'"

"Ah... Nihan?" Shizuka called out, Katsuya stepping back and out of the way as the tendrils and wires began to emit a light of sorts. "Look," she shouted, a faded image coming into view, "I think he's creating something!"

"Creating?" Yugi repeated, before his eyes widened and the light began to clear. "AH! Honda-kun!"

-Emergency Exit Located,\- the robotic hound said plainly, a wide and open 'entrance' appearing as the dog's head snapped back into place. -Commence Connection-

W-Wh... "Connecti'n?" Katsuya choked, before watching as the puppy wordlessly made his way through the door. "...Gh! What th' hell did y' do t' him, ' _REN'_?" The serpent drew back at those words, appearing to shrink under the crowd's stares while he cringed.

"GH- I don't know, how about what you all told me to!" he growled, baring venomous fangs in a failed attempt at 'defense'. "It was a big red 'E' button, it was the best option!"

"The big red button was your best option?" Anzu repeated in mild horror, Ren appearing to just realize what he'd said.

"...Well... Yeah... Um..."

"Hey... What is that place anyways?" asked the second girl of the group, the others moving to follow Shizuka through the door as Honda continued to silently and robotically walk ahead. "It looks almost like an amusement park..."

An amusement park? "You're right..." Light and wind blew past as they went through the door, momentarily blinking off their shock as they stared at the scene. "But where is this?" Anzu added as she walked through, looking around at the numerous buildings that towered somewhat around them. "I mean... It can't be Japan..."

"Well if you aren't all ignoring me still," a familiarly childish voice drawled, "I think I might have an idea..." The others turned to Ren, watching as the serpent jerked his head upward and behind the crowd. "Take a look!"

The five followed Ren's gaze, before choking as they read the english letters of the sign above. K-AI...

"A-AH- 'Kaiba-Land'!" Katsuya shouted incredulously, looking back down the street. "We're at 'Kaiba-Land'? But Kaibaland's a tower!"

"Well this isn't a tower," Ren muttered, before finding himself cut off.

"Ah... Mokuba-kun mentioned a building project in the USA right?" Yugi asked, eyes wide as the others recalled the event. "So then, perhaps this place is..." 'KaibaLand US'?

...Well, Mokuba did say the promise was 'all over the world'...

"Guys, over here," Shizuka called from ahead, pointing down one of the streets with her spear. "Honda-han's going into one of the buildings!" Ah...

He was? The group quickly ran to follow the girl's gaze, turning to watch as the puppy moved toward what looked to be an odd curved warehouse.

"He still isn't saying anything," she whispered, the others watching as a few tendrils unlocked the 'door' to move in.

"Hnnn... You don't think I really did break him do you?" Ren muttered, an odd look of curiosity in place. Katsuya frowned, shaking his head to the surprise of the others.

"Naw... Gotta be something else," he muttered, standing to follow after the dog. "S... Kaiba must've come by here, tha's why he's walkin'... S... He had t' come by here," he continued, swallowing somewhat nervously. She had to...

"That's right," Yugi added optimistically, looking down the path they were on. "And if we follow Honda-kun," he added, "Then maybe we can find him!"

The blond nodded, before running after the dog with a shout. "OI! Honda! Wait f'r us, alrigh'!" he called out, Otogi giving him an incredulous look from the back.

"Ah- If he can't respond, what use is that?"

"HONDAAA!"

"Did you hear a word I said!"

"HONNNNNDAAAA-Aaaah... Nh-" Katsuya blinked, holding an arm out for the others to stop as he came to a halt and stared forward. "Wait..." In the back of his mind...

Snarling...

"'Wait'?" Otogi repeated, unaware of the 'daze' his friend was in. "But he's right there..." Right there...

But not in the way they'd want.

"Hn! Moron... That's exactly the point," Ren hissed seriously, the others frowning as he continued. "He's turned around and hasn't said a damn thing; you don't think he wonders how he got here?"

"And how do you know he doesn't know that?" Otogi spat, the serpent rolling his eyes.

"Would he be quiet about it if he was?"

Anzu stiffened at that, turning back to look at the dog as Katsuya nervously approached it. "Alrigh' Honda... C'mon," he muttered, "Snap outta it..." And for the love of god, don't go rabid on him...

"-WARNING: YOU ARE ENTERING A STAFF ONLY LOCATION,-" the puppy responded, mouth flapping open as the multiple tendrils flared out and pointing forward. "-PRESENT VOICE KEY , OR TURN BACK. COMPLY,-" he continued warningly, the tips of each wire seeming to sharpen, "-OR BE ANNIHILATED.-

"Gh... "

Given that Honda almost took down Judgeman I'd say we better watch it here," Otogi whispered with those words, Katsuya nervously nodding from the front and stepping back.

"Righ'..." Keep distance then and get ready to duck. Alright. "Oii... Honda," he called out, before stiffening as the dog growled and snarled.

"-VOICE KEY INCORRECT.-" Voice- Awwww damn it...

"C-C'mon Honda! It's us! Jonouchi, Yugi, ev'ryone," he protested, shaking his head. "You r'member us righ'?"

Evidently not. "-VOICE KEY INCORRECT,-" the dog repeated, Katsuya waving a hand at the air and walking away as the others sighed.

"Well obviously somethin's in there," he muttered, crossing his arms. "G'ven how he's so keen on us leavin'... Anyone got an idea on how t' get through?" the blond continued, only to tense as another robotic shout met the air.

"-VOICE KEY INCORRECT,-" Honda stated yet again, his friend rolling his eyes before the crowd paled and swallowed. "-ENTERING ASSAULT MODE 'N'-" Assault mode what now?

"Er... 'N'?" Ren repeated with an almost squeaking tone, those before them slowly looking to the dog with horror as growling filled the air. "As in ' _OMEGA_ ' N?!" Errr...

Not that he'd really bothered wondering what that meant but...

Yes..? "I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound good... At all," the snake hissed with a swallow, ducking under Otogi's vest as the teen swallowed. The dog had begun to grow before them, stomping at the ground in an apparent rage. Fur bristled and grew black, lengthening and almost stiffening. Size however was not the only change; the panels of steel had each split down the center to divide into pieces. And from those pieces they again divided as the tendrils braided about each other in a slowly growing shape, and as the once foot tall puppy began to grow to fill the ship-sized hall around them.

Another division, and another, and another as the crowd stepped back, watching the tail grow in length to be covered in scales, as each metal flap began to curl and bend and hiss with the eyes and mouths of vipers. As each of the wiry clumps from the neck developed into bone, sinew, muscle, tendons, fat, eyes, skin... Fur... But with three heads as opposed to one.

"GR _RRRRAOUH-RAOUH_!" A monstrous and snarling hound... "GH _REAAAAARREEEEEEEE_!" The stubbed but just as menacing bulldog... "HRA _AEEECHHHEEE_!" And the very 'Akita Inu' that Honda had borrowed for his 'puppy' form moments prior. A face that seemed...

Much, much more frightening now.

And angry.

" _GRAAAAAOOOOOOOOO_!"

Eyes wide and filled with fear the teens watched as a mighty three-headed dog towered before them, feet stomping the ground before them to send tremors about the hall. Snarling pierced their ears, and with each shout droplets of foam and spittle flew their way from rabid mouths. "Ohhhh hell Honda," Katsuya muttered in a panic, still stepping back as he swallowed. "This is NOT th' way t' fix things..!"

The only answer was a snarling roar, along with flames from each of the dog's mouths as the crowd scattered and leaped away.

* * *

If she hadn't liked deserts before she certainly wouldn't after this she told herself. It was bad enough to be constantly forced to recall every stupid and pestering little dream on the location. Hell it was bad enough to have those dreams in the first place- but the fact remained that she was here.

And this time it was as close to 'real' as it would ever get, provided no one meddle with that particular decision.

Seto's blade hung almost limply in her hands as she walked, blade tip dragging across the ground and digging a line deep into the sand. The blade was covered in just as much dust as herself, and as she dully looked around her a light wind blew still more sand in her hair and face. Ruins stood around her but for once she noted, they were not 'Egyptian' in origin. Rather she was walking amid the forms of strange and rounded buildings, of vehicles beyond the modern world's achievements...

Stones littered the ground, and as she walked up the steps of what looked to be a hill trail she could see carvings on the side. Carvings of a 'stone', of monsters and people alike clamouring over the object as though it were a god... Only for the 'true one', an enormous serpent of sorts, to strike them down with all the malice in the world.

"Hn! A modern day 'golden calf' myth," she spat, despite her subconscious telling her that the advancements were far more unique in origin than some mere idol. This realm... It supposedly came from her head but she refused to admit it, not just yet she told herself. Even if she had believed these things, there was too much more in this realm to consider.

Things like her captor.

"He said he was 'dead'," she whispered to herself, pausing a moment to look over the lands she'd traveled as her footsteps blew away in the wind. He'd said that he'd been dead for almost 9 years, a full two years before she'd been adopted into the Kaiba family. Which meant that if she were to believe Noa's insistence's of her identity as a 'failsafe' and as a 'cover'...

If she were to believe she had 'replaced' that boy... Well.

Either one or the other was wrong, either Noa wasn't dead or Noa wasn't the real 'Noa'...

Or this was a ghost.

...Yeah. _Right_.

"Hn! 'Ghosts'," she muttered, shaking her head as she climbed up to the hill and smirked briefly. "I'm being completely brainwashed by Yugi's supernatural garbage," the woman hissed, before peering over the horizon to freeze in place. Wind was blowing fiercely again; had she still held her cape and hat it would have blocked her vision in the gale in fact, and as it was even her short hair was proving an annoyance.

For the moment that annoyance would be easily ignored however.

"A-Ah..." This place... A sturdy wall, an incomplete statue, its pedestal missing a vital centerpiece that had yet to come to mind... "...Kaiba-Land," she whispered, stepping forward as she looked over the completed theme park.

All of it she told herself with wide eyes, all of it was there... The stadium, the roller coaster, the monorail station...

Even Mokuba's 'capmon' branch. This place...

The woman shook her head, tensing as a voice whistled past her ear. ' _Seto_ ,' an older voice whispered, forcing a shudder down her back as the unrecognizable tone swam through her mind. ' _I win..._ '

Win..? W...

It was him! The woman's eyes snapped open, fists clenched as she looked toward the sky in rage. "GH... Noa... WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?" she roared, shaking from where she stood to stare a the sky. "WHERE DID YOU TAKE MY BROTHER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM! YOU... Gh..! Hah..."

Too much shouting...

"Hah..." She'd just finished going through a desert with no water, of course her throat would... "GH..." And there was no answer. No answer, no answer, no answer, she told herself, struggling to slow her shuddering breaths. Eyes half shadowed in exhaustion the woman stood, choking on her words and breaths as she took shaking steps toward the theme park she had yet to even finish building. "Mokuba!" she called out, voice quieter than she'd hoped as her sword again came loose in her grip. "Answer me..! Where _are_ you..?"

A breeze passed but there was otherwise no response, as with before. Walking forward in her robes of red she stood out almost painfully from the white and blue buildings around her even passing through the gate, her sword sheathed as she walked around in silence. The park was empty, as expected. Rides weren't moving, stores were closed...

There weren't even any monsters to face in the large park, and as the wind blew the entire place almost seemed haunted. Another spit in the face of logic, not that it couldn't be explained by however Noa hoped to mess with her mind. The woman continued to make her way around the park with these thoughts running through her mind, only stopping as she spotted the entrance to her still tarp-covered coliseum.

A coliseum with a locked 'door' in front of it. "...This lock..." Seto stepped forward as a small pedestal came to view, a chessboard sitting upon it with clear purposes relating to the entrance. Most of the pieces were already taken or moved... Scattered across the board in a seemingly random pattern to the average eye, yet to the trained one it was the path to destruction for one or the other's side. All that remained beside the king were a few pawns, her knights...

And her queen she noted, narrowing her eyes. The king was almost completely surrounded... There was only one point of attack, and she had it. And she'd taken it...

As she would now.

"...Checkmate," she whispered as the 'Queen' was moved into position, the door to the side opening as she stared to the board. That move...

If she hadn't made that move she wondered, walking into the darkness of the stadium halls, what would have happened. To her... And to Mokuba. What would have happened...

"Mr _rrnnniinnnnn..._ "

"Hn!" Seto jumped at the robotized sound, looking down with wide eyes as an armadillo of sorts peered out from the corner. It was metal in appearance, that was obvious; a collective of golden panels, with tiny lens eyes staring forward. A...

A duel monster..? ...That was right, she thought to herself with a frown. One of the latest ones being offered up from I2; the 'mosaic' and 'material' series...

Now just what was it doing here? The beast seemed to blink, ears twitching before it curled up and rolled across the hall to stop and glance back. " _Mirrrrrrinnnnnnn.._." W-What? " _Mirriiiiiiiiii..._ " The monster rolled about somewhat, tail thumping the ground as it stared. " _Mrrriiiiiiiii..._ " Follow it? Hah!

...Fine. The woman narrowed her eyes, cautiously following after the monster only to find nothing but empty space as the monster vanished. Well. "...Hn! Playing with my mind..." That little rat...

And just what was it about the armadillo anyways that convinced Noa to use that? Still muttering curses under her breath the woman stepped further into the hall, looking to the side as she spotted an open door. Slightly open rather- there was just enough space to see a light from inside, and despite preferring to act on caution Seto found herself lightly pushing it forward to frown and enter the room. It was a projector causing the light, connected to a VHS player by a small assortment of cables as it beamed its light to a white screen. Well...

She was fairly certain it was that, and-

There was a small frown as she looked around the front at the device, suspicions confirmed. "...Hn... Who uses VHS now?" she muttered, nonetheless moving over to hit 'play' before standing back to watch. Crackling met the air and the projector hummed to life. Timers counted down, static filled the screen, and just seconds after a mostly coloured view of the inside of a mansion could be seen. The typical shaky vision of a camera was expected of course, but just a few moments into it and she realized that it was instead moving as though the camera was simply another person's eyes, occasionally drifting, looking away from those speaking, closing and opening...

Or staring at nothing at all.

' _Did you enjoy church?_ ' a woman's voice was asking as the 'camera' moved upward, Seto briefly tensing as a woman whose face was near identical to another in her memory came into view.

' _It was fun!_ ' a boy's voice cried in response, Seto watching narrowing her eyes at the sound of an almost familiar sound. It couldn't be...

And yet as she watched, she couldn't be sure that it _wasn't_.

' _There weren't many people my age,_ ' the boy was saying almost carelessly. ' _Just one_ ,' he added, Seto snorting in response. Hn! Of course there wasn't, Christianity made up less than 1% of the religious population...

And given the looks of things in that room, this wasn't even that; it was Catholicism.

...

...Well... Didn't that just bring up 'happy' memories she thought to herself, narrowing her eyes before shaking the thought from mind. The video cracked from the woman on screen happily lifting the 'camera' to the air at that moment, switching to a wide scene of foods and a large cake with candles.

' _Alright, get ready to blow the candles,_ ' a middle-aged man announced, Seto stiffening with wide eyes as Gozaburo came into view. This man...

Eyes flickered over the screen, not comprehending what she could see. He was smiling she noted coldly, expressions of mixed anger and disbelief coming over her. Smiling an honest and genuine smile that should have been impossible...

Impossible! ' _Happy birthday, Noa_!'

Noa.

Her eyes narrowed as the candles were blown out, laughter filling the air before the scene shifted yet again. "Tch... Trying to prove he's who he says," she muttered under her breath, watching as a younger version of the boy's reflection came into view before the 'camera' turned from the seas to Gozaburo once more. To prove her 'wrong'... Laughter and smiles...

They were sailing, and having the time of their god-forsaken lives, shouting promises of vacations and altered hours in classes... Of more time together, of more time without work and schooling, because after all ' _you've come so far_!'

This was _not_ Gozaburo she growled to herself, moving back toward the projector with a clenched fist, ready to crush the device before her into nothing but scrap. This was NOT-

' _Shk... Shk... shk..._ '

...Crying.

The woman froze, looking back to the screen with narrowed eyes before feeling herself grow cold with dread. She didn't know how she could see this. She didn't know why she was seeing this even, or at least she didn't for a short moment. All the scenes had been from the boy's point of view, from Noa's point of view.

Now however it was a security feed from a funerary home of all places, from a place far more 'well off' than what her own parents had gone through. The last moments... Approaching the coffin, guests and 'friends' of the family paying their respects in anything they had...

Leaving flammable objects that would burn with the body into ashes, things like toys and candy...

And then the coffin was sent into the flames, burning away completely.

Seconds later the view had changed and despite the 'mother's tears, that same smiling woman she'd seen before walked out from that building with a framed picture of her now dead son gripped in her hands. A funeral...

Noa's funeral she realized coldly.

"So you are dead then," she hissed, stepping back with a swallow as the film cut short. But if he was dead...

Then who was-

"We've been waiting for you, Kaseri-sama." Kase-

The woman tensed, turning around with wide eyes to see 'Kisara' standing before her in the entrance of the room. The girl's outfit had changed since she last saw her, since she'd seen Mokuba cut the child in two. It resembled the typical station attendant's uniform for the moment, and at her side was none other than the same robotic armadillo she'd seen before. This girl...

White wings folded behind her back, blue eyes staring forward. It figured Noa had 'backed up' the files. "You... Kisara?" she whispered almost confusedly, the child smiling in an act that caught Seto almost completely off guard as the girl bowed before her.

Kisara stood once again, wings shifting somewhat as she gestured to the door at the side. "Please," she said calmly, stepping to the side as a train station rather than a hallway met her gaze from beyond the door. "Your transport is waiting." Transport?

The smooth roar of a train's track came into being, a white figure blurring past to slow to a stop as a white steel hull came to view. The train... "Expecting visitors are we 'Noa'?" she muttered, nonetheless stepping past as the doors to the Blue-Eyes Monorail as its own car door opened up. So she was being moved from her park in her train... "...Tch..."

She walked aboard, Kisara following behind to leave her pet at the station as the doors closed and locked tight. The cars of course were empty she noted. Each of the two seat rows on the sides of the halls were simply coated with the blue fabric picked out beforehand, simple and slightly cushioned chairs facing forward along side wide and clear windows in a pale light. As she moved into the car she took the first seat available, not wanting to bother picking anything else and only dimly aware of the movement the train was already going through.

"We are now en-route to our destination," Kisara calmly announced a few minutes afterwards, the girl having vanished to some room with access to the train's speaker system while her 'guest' became lost in thought. "Arrival will be in approximately one hour. Until then," she continued, Seto narrowing her eyes with impatience and thought both as the girl went on, "Please... Enjoy your stay."

'Enjoy'...

Hah! That was far from what was on her mind she thought, crossing her arms as she silently waited for the train to reach that same destination.

' _I'm waiting,_ ' a voice was whispering, hissing in the same tone she'd heard just a few minutes prior the train's departure. ' _Waiting for you... You've been invited to my private realms and that's rare... So try not to disappoint me..._

_'...Kaseri...'_

* * *

Fire was a powerful thing to behold. Man's first 'invention' despite it being naturally created all about the world, the first real 'weapon' to last through the ages. Sure it granted warmth and all that, making cooking possible and life in the middle of winter plausible, but it could take down entire forests if given the right time and weather; it wasn't something to joke about. It was a power.

And it was especially powerful when it came from the inside of a wet mouth for some reason, but for the moment, he wasn't going there. Because really the fact was that Honda- AKA 'the cerberus'- Had a tail that was wreathed in flames, three very angry fire-breathing heads that could only be told apart by the fact that the center was the only one with pricked ears, and a mane of at least four hundred snakes.

The entire deal of fire breath wasn't really his concern right now, given that the only thing between himself, his friends, and that thing was a wall around the corner. And now that they were sitting at this corner, they were able to let the information finally set in properly. Their friend was no longer just stuck in the body of a 'robot'. He wasn't even just under Noa's control. No...

He'd just finished turning into THE Cerberus. The Greek's take on the hell-hound Otogi told them, the guardian to the gates of hades AKA hell...

"It's furred hide is impenetrable," he went on with a nervous swallow as the monster snarled and spat, "And it's said that besides music the only way to take it down is by strangulation. Its poison can burn through anything, and it has the strength of the largest monsters in existence... It only eats live, human prey," he continued, shuddering somewhat, "And-"

"Otogi," Katsuya muttered weakly, holding out a hand as he swallowed back a wave of nervous bile. "...Stop talkin'."

The teen blinked, before hurriedly nodding. "...Right... Sorry about that."

" _You certainly have a way of choosing your 'friends' Merea..._ " Tell him about it, he was still talking to this ghost thing... " _...Hn! Don't listen to me then!_ " Ehhhh... Damn it.

The blond merely grimaced and nodded, the others looking around the corner of the wall as the cerberus' snarls continued. Flames were singing the steel ground, and before them was nothing but ash and darkness. Red eyes glowed fiercely from the distance, and the light from outside the door was long gone...

All in all a truly horrifying sight, even without realizing that this was their friend. "Hnnn... There has to be some other way to take this down," Shizuka muttered, biting her lip. "Some way we can snap Honda-han out of it without killing him..."

"Well unless you can withstand the fire and venom before you get there to find out, there isn't," Otogi muttered, biting his lip as he stared at the ground. "As it is," he whispered, "We'll be safe if we stay here but..."

"But then we can't find Kaiba-san and Mokuba-kun," Yugi finished, slumping to the ground with a sigh and gripping his boomerang tightly. "This is a problem..."

"Yeah..." A round of sighs filled the air, expressions morose and thoughtful before realization came over the black mage of the group.

"...Ah! Wait," Anzu muttered, looking toward Otogi with wide eyes as an expression of dread came over her face, "Where's Ren?"

The teen blinked, looking over himself with a slight frown. "Ren?" Otogi asked, standing to his feet and looking himself over, "He's righ- ... Shit!" he shouted, looking around and hurriedly turning to the side. "Where-"

"HEY UGLY!" they heard over the cerberus' snarls, the group looking around the corner with wide eyes as the dog momentarily paused to crouch down and look at the miniscule serpent before it. It was as though a mouse were standing next to a whale, and to complete that image Ren appeared as though he were facing the face of death itself for the moment, eyes wide and quivering despite his apparently unwavering voice. "Hng... You want to take someone on?" the snake hissed, fangs bared and dripping as the monster stared. "Well here you go! I'm the one you want!" he announced, hood flaring as he spat and riled the monster up. "'ISHTAR MALIK' right? THEN GO FOR IT! EAT ME!"

"What..." He couldn't be serious. This was the guy who orchestrated an entire underground ring, what- "What th' hell is that idiot doing..!"

"M-Malik?" Shizuka repeated with a swallow, looking back to the others as snarls hit the air, the snake before them easily dodging each attempt at squashing the creature. "Then... He was righ-"

"It has to be a bluff," Anzu muttered with wide eyes, cutting the girl off. "Honda kept accusing him of that after all, so... So it's only natural he'd use that to his advantage but... R-REN!" she shouted, running forward as the dog snarled and finally caught the beast in his hands. "REN!" There were no screams...

The cerberus tossed the somehow silent snake into the air, and still there were no screams as it fell toward the leftmost head.

"REN DON-"

"Gh... THIS BETTER WORK!" they heard through the air, followed by the sounds of a screeching halt as Anzu stopped.

"GH _RAAAAOOOUUUUUUGGHHH_!" The middle head was arguing with the one on the right, paws raised in an action that almost seemed to be an attempt to fight with itself.

"ROA _AARRRRRROOOOOHHHH_!" The arguments however, were for naught...

And in an instant the snake was gone, tiny body flailing and twirling mid-air until it was swallowed into the head completely. There wasn't a single sound following that, even from the monster. Anzu stood in the path of the enormous beast, frozen in shock as the dog padded the ground to snort at its next opponent. "Y ... You... ...You..."

"What th' hell was that?" Katsuya muttered, stepping out with a swallow even as the cerberus began to growl warningly once more. "What..."

"The switches were inside the heads last time right?" Shizuka whispered, eyes wide and quivering in shock. "So maybe, he thought..."

"S-Shit," Otogi said with a swallow, staring at the beast. "Sh-"

"Gh... HA _AAAAHHHHH_!" The group pulled back as Anzu screamed, charging the monster with her staff in hand despite all common sense arguing against it. "Honda... I don't know now if you're right or wrong!" she cried, weapon glowing with power even without the aid of her partner, "But this is for your own good! Here's my latest spell," she roared, kicking off into the air as the hound before her snarled and leaped into action, "AEOLUS!"

Wind tore from her staff, slicing through the nearest head to cleave it clean in two before it could even give a pained bark. The snakes on the mane beneath hissed in agitation and pain both as the halves collapsed uselessly on those that survived, the remaining canine heads snarling in added rage. "GRAAOHHHHH! RHHHOOOOUUURRR! ROUR ROUUURRR RHOUUU!" One hit. One-

The middle head wasn't snarling as much any more.

"Hah... Anzu won't be able to do this on her own!" Yugi shouted with a swallow, running past the others as they stared toward the carnage incredulously. "Quick, we have to help!" he shouted, Anzu in question landing to the ground to stare up at the monster before her with eyes of rage. Without waiting for a response the boy continued to charge, weapon pulled from his back and unfolded into its full form. "Hah... HONDA-KUN!" the boy announced, the heads that had been mere inches from Anzu's face turning on him as he ran along the soot covered wall. "Forgive me..! H-AH!"

The boomerang in his grip was tossed forward as he kicked back from the wall, a wave of flames wrapping over where he'd stood just moments before. In seconds however the weapon made its mark, regardless of the fires that coated it briefly; the head on the far left was cut from the neck completely and cleanly, and as the head on the right dispersed into shaven tendrils and wires in its death the left head did the same. The collar shrank. Metal surrounded the third and final head in some bizarre control-like panel system, along with lights and buttons that were quickly covered up by any remaining serpents from the mane.

"Ah... That..."

"The controls!" Shizuka shouted, the beast before them attempting to get over its crippled form as it gave a pained whine. She ran forward, momentarily squinting in an attempt to read the labels. "They're the controls," she repeated, "We can-"

"DUCK," Katsuya roared, pushing the girl to the side as fires blasted toward them from the recovered head.

"GH-"

Fires bathed the ground they'd stood upon, nothing but black and ashen ground meeting their gaze. The blond took a shuddering breath, looking back up as the Cerberus snarled. Two heads down, controls to go... "Hah... Otogi?" he shouted, raising his eyebrows to the teen. "What was tha' abou' stranglin' th' thing? Abou' 'impenetrable hides' an' all tha'?"

"I never said that Noa would go exactly by myth!" Otogi retorted, the others merely busying themselves with dealing with the monster while the boys bickered.

"Well SAY tha' next time!" Katsuya roared, before looking up to the beast with a scowl. "Tch! Alrigh'... We gotta get past those snakes!" he shouted, the others nodding as they fell to the ground once more. "Get t' th' panel an' find th' switch we want!"

"I'm on it," the teen behind him announced, daggers at the ready as he ran forward with Shizuka at his side. The pair leaped into the air, both weapons glowing with energy as they kicked back from mid air. "Pine Dance!" he called out, spinning around in mid air to send a volley of blades to the snakes.

"Meteor Fusilade!" Shizuka added in, her own double cast clearing a path for her to land on the metal sheet of the monster's neck. "HaaaaaaAAAH!"

Dozens of serpents heads were falling to the ground in the onslaught of daggers and ice coated bullets, replacing themselves with shards of metal as they scattered before them. Above Honda was reeling... Toppling on his feet, growling under his breath. The vipers on his mane however were very much themselves, and they did not at all appreciate being cut down.

"S-SHIZUKA!" Katsuya shouted up, watching as the snakes attempted to hone in on the girl before them. "QUICK! FIND A BUTTON!"

" _A_ BUTTON?" she shouted incredulously, Yugi answering the to girl's shouts before Katsuya could respond.

"Find an 'override'!" he shouted, Otogi nodding in agreement.

"It'll be different from the rest," the teen told her with wide eyes, "More noticeable so that it wasn't pressed accidentally!" The snakes were still turning on her. Venom was dripping from their fangs and burning whatever ground they hit. Shizuka's spear was cutting through them however, and as fires filled their vision from what was apparently another power from the snakes, it was impossible to see or hear her response to their cries.

In an instant however as the last of the snakes were cut down into steel they could see her reach for a switch... See her slam down on it with one hand before falling back in exhaustion, Katsuya running forward to catch the girl. "S-SHIZUKA! SHIZUKA!" He wasn't going to make it... He wasn-

"I got her!" a familiar voice shouted, a 'coil' pulling up from the ground to snatch her on its back. The snake, almost horse sized for the moment, lowered the girl down before slowly returning to normal size as he grinned. "Hehehehe..." The golden cobra chuckled as the others stared, Katsuya skidding to a halt and Shizuka staring almost incredulously as Ren laughed. "Hahaha! You can all thank me la-GLK!"

The serpent was instantly snatched up by Anzu, the woman gritting her teeth as the dog above them seemed to lock down on itself and stand motionless. "You... Moron!" she roared, Ren wincing in the shouts as he was gripped in her fists. "Do you know how lucky you are that we cut down the right heads?" the woman continued as her 'partner' sighed almost exasperatingly. "Why would you use something like that bluff anyways?" she continued, something seeming to flash in the snake's eyes with those words. "Did you think you were brave? Did you somehow think that you'd take it out on your own so that the others stopped accusing you?"

"Gh-" The serpent continued to draw back, hood still flared in agitation. "Geeze... Lady, I'm not five," he hissed, Anzu merely tightening her grip.

"Well you certainly act like it!"

"Well you act 50!"

Ummm... "WHAT?" the woman hissed, Ren appearing to realize all too soon what he'd said.

"Ehehehe..."

The boys and Shizuka both swallowed, slowly moving back as the the storm before them continued to rise. Best to just leave now... Before anything really bad happened, and-

"Hn... Nnng... Wh... What happened-aru?" a voice called out, the arguments abruptly cut short as those below turned to look at the enormous dog before them. Honda appeared to look over himself briefly, shaking himself of whatever bits of wire and metal were still in his fur before jumping. "E-Erf! What... Since when did I get this big?" he shouted in shock, Shizuka looking up with wide eyes as a grin began to form.

"Ah... H... Honda-han?" she shouted up, laughing somewhat as the dog continued to panic. "Honda-han, Are you alright?"

"Eh... Never better-aru! But what happened?" he pressed, the sound coming out with an added rumbling bark as a thankfully normal mouth opened and closed. Ren smirked, coiling around Anzu's wrist and chuckling as the dog attempted to pinpoint his location.

"What happened? You went crazy and tried to kill us all!" he laughed, the dog above growling somewhat as the snake sighed. "Ahhhh... And you worry about me..."

"Ren... That isn't helping your case," his partner muttered, the snake merely holding his grin.

"Still true," he said with a smirk, before frowning. "But hey, besides that," he coughed, drawing back against his partner's wrist, "Do you think you would shrink down? This is a little intimidating..."

Honda merely snorted, taking a seat before them and giving the serpent as close to a grin as he could. "Hn! Now you know how I feel-aru!"

"How you- I'M SMALLER THAN YOU MORON!"

"Not all the time," the dog countered, Ren's hood flaring in agitation as he rose.

"Why you-"

"A-hm!"

The arguing monsters turned, Otogi crossing his arms and gesturing forward. "...The shrinking?" he reminded, a few of the others staring momentarily.

"Oh..." Honda blinked, slowly nodding his head as the teen before him repeated the gesture. "Right. Uh..." He frowned, looking over himself in confusion as he coughed. "...I don't actually remember how I got here though-aru, so... I don't know if I can... You know..." You know?

...Oh COME ON! "...Yer stuck?!" Katsuya shouted incredulously, the dog whining and cringing despite his mammoth size.

"Hey! It's not my fault-aru! Blame the one who messed around in my head!" he snarled, an almost rabid bark being aimed toward the snake in question.

"Oh come on, I was only listening," Ren muttered, only to be silenced by another glare from the crowd. "... SHEEESH! Can't win for losing with you guys, and I got eaten!"

The serpent was pointedly ignored, the others merely looking up as they attempted to think of a way to help their friend. Most of the controls were switches. But if it was anything like the disguised head... "Maybe you need to visualize it?" Shizuka offered, the enormous dog moving to lay on his front as he tilted his head. "Did you try that..?"

A small span of silence was their response, the dog eventually shaking his head and slumping between his paws. "...Nothing," he admitted, tail smacking the ground as he whined. "Man... This day just gets worse and worse..." Yeah tell them about it, the only way this could possibly get any better was if-

"Are you perhaps in need of assistance?" a voice asked, pulling them from their thoughts.

...Eh?

The group turned, blinking as a young and familiar white winged boy stood before them. "Ah... Seraph," Katsuya muttered, the boy merely moving to stand before them with his typically 'blank' stare. The boy held his arms firmly crossed behind his back, looking directly toward his blond charge and speaking yet again.

"I repeat; are you in need of assistance?" he asked, dressed in what appeared to be a station attendant's uniform.

"Unless you can fix 'this'," Honda whined from above, nose barely level with the top of Katsuya's head, "No."

Seraph turned and stared in response to those words, blinking dully before moving past to put a hand on the canine's nose. It was a little strange how the boy could simply start walking in the air actually; nonetheless what he said next was enough to keep them from asking questions.

"...Hn. Your coding is blocked," he muttered, the others raising their eyebrows.

"Ah... Blocked?" Anzu asked, Seraph nodding as he turned to the others.

"It is an incomplete code," the boy explained, landing on the ground with the same emotionless expression from before. "For that reason, it has been blocked off until completion. It is very close however," he added, turning to the others. "If you like, I shall initiate this specific one under the 'safe mode'." Safe mode...

Well, that sounded pretty- "Ah... Wait... Initi- Hey wait a second," Katsuya growled, crossing his arms as the boy stared. "You work for Noa! What kind 'f 'reward' do y' get in helpin' us?"

The others nodded in agreement to this, their target merely staring blankly as the dog behind him began to growl. "...I was told to make certain that you reach your destination," Seraph responded, the rest of the group frowning. "Only this. Now..."

A slight glow emitted from the boy's hand as he turned back to Honda, and with a loud yelp the dog before him collapsed at his normal size in a split second flash of light. "You will find many sections of code have been cancelled by this action," the boy explained, bringing his hand back to bow to the group politely. "Please, do not wait to find out which ones these are," he continued, before gesturing down the hall. "Now... There are two paths you may take. Which will you choose?"

Another moment of silence, and after trading glances the group looked forward and swallowed.

"...How 'bout you decide... Seraph."


	18. Bifauxnen

The train ride she'd taken was endlessly dark for a majority of the trip thus far Seto noted from her seat, staring blankly out the window. Nothing but darkness as far as she could see, the train floating through space for all she knew. It resulted in an eerie sensation, almost akin to floating... And then with a sudden realization she spotted light, and the feeling of unease was banished.

The light increased, a heat rising through the air and breeze passed, the woman moving toward the door to look out with wide eyes as she was met with a second wave of pressuring heat. This...

The train began to fall, Seto pushing off from the vehicle with a shout as she skidded to the ground and looked back. All around there was nothing but stone cliffs, lit by a heated glow from below the earth. The train she'd come in collapsed through those very cliffs, and the vehicle was immersed in flames the instant it touched the magma in the caverns below. The moment it struck the heat that, if it were any closer, would send her into nothing but ashes on the wind. It only took seconds to fully comprehend her location after that.

It was hard to miss being trapped in a volcano after all.

"Gh... This place..." As the woman pulled herself to her feet she took a deep and shuddering breath, moving to look over the cliff's edge at the molten sea below. A volcanic plain... What a wonderful place to be trapped in. The sensation of being watched came over her at that moment, and with narrowed eyes Seto turned to look across the field around her. Her gaze however quickly widened with shock, eyes honing in on light coloured hair and fox-like eyes in an instant. "...You..." Impossible she told herself, stepping forward on the stone bridges as the one before her smirked. "Noa..."

The man before her was tall. He just barely met the half-way point between six and seven feet it looked like, and rather than wear his suit as a professional would his jacket was loosely slung over his shoulders in a fashion not unlike her rival. It was the hair however, and the face that caught her eye. The narrowed blue stare, set in a face that was both like and unlike her own with sharper angles, more masculine features... And light hair she could see, her glare intensifying.

Light hair that only one other person she knew was in possession of, styled in a fashion far too similar to her own for comfort. "Hnhnhnhhn... Welcome," the man said calmly, holding a hand out as the woman drew her blade, already prepared to attack. "Like the scenery? I built it myself you know..." This...

Bastard... Bastard... "You _BASTARD_!" she roared, kicking off the stone to send her blade toward the man javelin style as her opponent easily skipped back. MONSTER! To think he could speak calmly after all this, that he could simply play with their minds! "Where's Mokuba?" she snarled, pulling herself up as her opponent continued to smirk from before her. "What have you done with him!"

"'Done'?" the man repeated, calmly ducking the next swing of a blade only to grip the sword in his hands from the next strike. "My dear 'Kaseri'," he chuckled, leaning in as the woman's eyes widened with minute surprise, "I would never do anything to harm my brother... When I'm through with you," he continued, gripping the blade tightly as his opponent attempted to pull it free, "He'll be released back to the real world in perfect health..." This...

"...And how do I know you're telling the truth?" she finally spat, pulling her sword back and distancing herself from the first person to surpass her height in over two years. "Just how can I possibly trust you with that!" she roared, shifting into a stance and preparing to charge once again.

Noa merely smirked, shaking his head and sighing. " Well... You can't of course," he admitted with a shrug, brushing a bit of hair from his face. "But it would be preferred..."

Of course it would be 'preferred'. But did she honestly care? She wanted to leave. To leave with her brother, the mutt, and if luck would have it anyone else that had manged to get themselves stuck here. And the one thing in her way was this!

"What do you WANT with me?" she snarled, sword pointed forward as she paced around her opponent. "Just tell me now and get this over with!"

This seemed to almost be the wrong thing to ask, given the continued positive reaction. "You really want to know that?" the man chuckled, narrowing his eyes as he changed the subject. "Just look around... It's perfect isn't it?" he asked, "The world at its birth." If beauty could be called 'dead' she supposed... "No animals live here, no plants grow... I wonder," Noa continued, his opponent narrowing her eyes as the rambling went on, "Just how lonely the creator of this world must have been. I can create anything here," the man told her, holding his arms out in an open gesture to the surrounding chasms. "I could take us to the depths of the seas or to the far reaches of space, or even a place only located within your mind. Anything is possible... From here," Noa explained almost with a shout, "I could alter the course of history itself! From here... I 'am' the laws that bind the realm together, and I am 'GOD'!"

Noa's hands were brought back down to his sides with those words, a menacing grin on his face while his opponent scowled. Hn! Great. She had an 'omnicidal' maniac and a religious nutcase on her hands. Could this get any worse at all? She snorted at the very thought, focusing her anger onto more pressing matters. "Tch... I'm fairly certain that if 'God' existed, it wouldn't resemble you," she sneered, momentarily standing in place despite her mind telling her to move. "Now... What do you WANT!"

Noa sighed, shaking his head and turning from the woman. "Well... I'm just surprised is all," he admitted, shrugging as he pocketed his hands. "You have all this power at your fingers... And I doubt that anyone would question or complain against you for too long if you were to reveal yourself, given your 'experiences'," he continued, glancing back to his target. "Yet you hide," the man pressed, "And you smother your ability, using it for nothing but a children's card game... Are you really worthy of this power?" Noa asked, narrowing his eyes and stepping toward his target. "Truthfully?" Worthy?

HAH! "Hn... You're quite the hypocrite," she growled, sword glowing with fire as the pair paced around each other. "You claim not to care about appearances and yet you stand here in that form?"

"Hnhnhn! This... This was just a 'treat'," the man said with a shrug, jacket cape flowing somewhat behind him as he moved. "It's only the truth after all... I thought I should keep things accurate for our fight. Just think; it's almost been ten years," he whispered, narrowing his eyes as he smirked. "A long time. Plenty of time to plan this..."

"This?" she repeated almost incredulously, opponent's smirk growing wider in response.

"This land, this trap... We're going to play a game," Noa announced, holding a hand out in gesture as the field seemed to darken beyond what it already was. "A game that will decide which of us is the one worthy of the power that comes from the 'Kaiba' name... A game that I'm sure you're quite familiar with," he added with a chuckle, a flash appearing in his eyes. "'Duel Monsters'." Oh were they now?

"Hn!" Seto snorted, shaking her head as she looked away. "As though it would even matter," she muttered, opponent's smirk dropping coldly while his opponent turned back. "You're already dead!" the woman roared. "I saw that much. So tell me now, before even considering a 'challenge', just what are your real intentions!"

She never should have asked.

* * *

The films they were watching weren't real, not in the way most would expect at least. True the scenes had happened, and exactly as shown at that but it was never really filmed, and if it was it hadn't been like this. The tapes they saw were instead pulled directly from a young boy's mind, a boy whose own depressing end had brought pain and suffering to those who surpassed him for years to come.

"What is this?" Yugi whispered, watching the final moments of the cremation of their captor, a scene with stark contrast to the horse-back rides and somehow enjoyable classes the camera had gone through.

"It... It's h's funeral," the blond beside him whispered, swallowing nervously as the film cluttered to a stop. "His..."

"If this is Noa's funeral," Anzu said quietly, holding her own staff close, "Then who was the 'Noa' we saw here..?"

"Last I checked ghosts don't possess computers and run body-stealing gambits," Ren added from her shoulder, none of the others wanting to try and separate the two for the moment. "And if they did, I'm pretty sure they'd come forward about it.” Would they..?

Katsuya shook his head, biting his lip as the projector light went blank and glaringly white once again. "I don'... ...I don' know," he muttered, bowing his head as he turned to leave the room. "Hell," he continued as he shuddered, "W' this kid I don' ev'n know what t' believe..."

The others went fairly quiet at that, before freezing as they stepped out into a wide and open room from the tiny and cramped closet they'd been in. "A-Ah... Where is this place?" Otogi exclaimed, the others looking around the pillars and benches of a train station with wide eyes. "We were in 'KaibaLand' a few seconds ago right?" he continued, familiar posters of upcoming movies or shows decorating the sides along various other advertisements. "So how..."

"We've pretty much been ev'ry where in th' las' few seconds," Katsuya responded, walking around the station as he swallowed. "Th' question is where th' hell we are..."

"You are standing at the crossroads of the mind," Seraph told them, the group turning to stare as 'Kisara' and a small robot of sorts stood at the boy's side. Cross...

"Crossroads?" Shizuka repeated in confusion, shaking her head as a breeze blew past the two on the station's platform. "But what do you mean by that?"

The children stepped to the sides, a train rolling into the station to stop as they gestured toward it. "We now stand at the point in Noa's mind where we come to a conflict," they both chorused, bowing their heads.

"One one hand, he wishes you to die," stated Kisara, a flash of malice in her eyes.

"And on the other, he wishes you to live," finished Seraph, his own eyes appearing still dull despite the momentary life.

"Either way," they both continued, the monorail train's door opening wide, "He wishes for you to move on to his private realms." Move...

"Oi oi oi... If he wants us to do something-aru, then why can't he tell us outright instead of putting us through this?" Honda growled, his head no longer the bizarre fly trap it had been before. "Why can't he just figure out what he wants and get it over with-aru!"

The children both smirked, the others tensing up in response to the sudden show of emotion. "Because that," they told them, toothy grins across their faces, "Would be inhuman." Inhu-

...What?

The door to the white train locked on the side as lights came on from within the device, the pair bowing before them as they grinned. "There is something you must see," the pair explained, expressions again serious in intent, "And something you must do."

"We cannot help you with this," Seraph continued.

"Nor can we interfere," his sibling went on. "Instead," the girl told them, "We will give you this advice. Though this train will not take you to the full distance with no tracks to run upon," Kisara told them, those before her swallowing somewhat nervously, "There is a way for you to reach your destination, and a way for you to leave this place."

"Shou-kun will show you this path," the girl's 'brother' went on, gesturing to the armadillo that was sitting silently to the side. "You must take this train to the very last station and then step off; from there," Seraph stated, "You must use your own power to move on, with Shou as your guide."

"...Our own power?" Yugi muttered, swallowing somewhat nervously as he looked the pair over. "But what power is that..?"

Seraph looked toward Honda, blinking slowly as he spoke. "As stated," the boy began, "Your partner's programming has been altered. No more will he have access to the weapon systems he once did. Instead," he continued, Honda appearing to tense considerably at the thought of being 'programmed', "You will only have access to the form that I connected his programming into."

"AH-" The dog jumped at those words, eyes wide as he grinned. "You mean... I can switch between that form and this one-aru? That great big 'thing' from before-aru?"

The others grew rather pale at that, Ren being the one to voice their concerns as a round of awkward coughing filled the air. "H-Hah... I'm all for a good show," he laughed, drawing back still further against his partner, "But don't you think that this might be a little bit much? What with him having tried to kill us and all that?"

Kisara shook her head, before bowing politely to the group as she smiled. "I have repaired the holes in the programming," she told them, her audience sharing uncomfortable glances as they took the words of their very enemy's program. "You will have no problems with the 'assault mode' option any more." Well...

...Better than... Nothing? "Tha's good I suppose," he admitted, scratching his head. "Er..."

"Very well then," Seraph stated, he and his sister both stepping further off to the side to leave a clear path into the train. "In that case, please enjoy your travels with this train-line; we will take you to your destination as fast as possible," they both told them, the teens each giving their own nod of agreement before walking into the train itself.

"Righ'..." In they went then he supposed, walking into the car to take a seat as the vehicle began to move. The group looked around the semi-private car they sat in, benches each turned to each other as the robotic armadillo from before stood by the door. The door had locked itself in with a 'hiss'...

And seconds later there was nothing but the light from the train itself to see by.

"So... What do y' think tha' thing is?" he said after a moment, the others shaking their heads as they looked to the dog-sized robot.

"Honestly, as long as it doesn't try to eat me," Ren muttered with a stretch, yawning and curling around his partner's neck, "I could care less..."

"That would be your main concern, wouldn't it-aru..." The serpent snorted as the train made its way forward, looking to the dog as it sat in Shizuka's lap.

"Hn! Just remember who keeps eating me and you'll probably remember why," he muttered, Honda merely growling in response.

"Grrrrrrrnnnnggg... Bastard..." Hahahaha-

Stop fighting.

"M _rrrrrrnnnnn_..." The others jumped as an odd rumbling sound came from the front, the armadillo tilting its head before rolling toward the door. Eh...

The train had stopped... "A-Ah! H-Hey, we can' be there already righ'?" he asked, running to the door and following the somewhat large metal 'ball' off the train with a shout. "O-Oi!" Katsuya called out, the others following behind as the armadillo continued its 'pinging' cry. "OI!"

A hissing sound came from behind as the train doors shut behind them, the group turning to watch as their train took off in a blur of white. "...Well... There goes our ride," Shizuka said with a bit lip, before blinking as the armadillo trundled back from where Katsuya had been chasing it. "Ah- Hey, what's it doing?"

"Ah... Not sure," Otogi muttered, watching it as it jumped down to the track to curl up into a ball on the long metal line. "...We should probably follow it though," he added, crossing his arms as he gestured downward. "After all this might be the way Kaiba went."

"Don't you think Kaiba would have taken the train though?" Anzu added, looking to the others in scepticism. "I mean... This is a train station. It would make sense..."

"Noa probably cut the tracks after Kaiba got there though," Otogi answered quickly, waving the suggestion off with a shrug. "Besides," he added, "Those two kids said Honda would be our ride, didn't they?"

The dog balked at this, jumping as the others turned his way to stare almost confusedly. "A-Aru! They said that-aru?"

"You were there Honda... An' I don' think they'd 'f brought it up if y' weren't," Katsuya added dryly, the dog blinking a few times in response.

"Ehhrf..."

The others continued to stare for a moment, the dog seemingly lost in thought. "Well come on," Ren hissed from the side, eyes narrowed as he looked to the hound. "Get... 'Big' or whatever it is you're supposed to do!"

"Wh-What-"

Shizuka nodded, smiling as the others attempted to encourage the dog. "That's right- I'm sure it'll be fine Honda-han..!"

"H-Hey, I don't even-..."

"Hahhhh..." Katsuya sighed, before moving over to punt the thing off the side of the station platform as it gave a loud and shocked bark. "C'mon!" he growled, crossing his arms as he scowled. "We don' have all day damn it!"

"I'm going I'm going-aru!"

And a few seconds later after the 'switch' had been found and passengers loaded on a mane of snakes... And 'going' was putting it rather lightly.

"Hh-hh- _hh-hh-hh-hh-hh-hh-_ "

Pounding steps sounded on the air as a dog chased after a tumbling and curled up armadillo. The constant 'in-out' of a needless breath came with each footstep, and amid these sounds the rather panicked screams expected from the passengers of an open seated-120 kilometer-per-hour 'bullet'. As it was, Shizuka seemed to be far regretting her earlier comments of 'it'll be fine'.

"HHAAA _AAAAAHHHHH_!" A lot.

"T-THIS... AIN'T... WHAT I HAD... IN MIND!" Katsuya screamed, gripping the collar of the now train sized version of Honda's canine self. A mane of snakes proved successful seat-belts to hold them in place, true, but they weren't the most stationary; if anything, he was beginning to realize why Honda hated them.

"GH- HONDA!" Anzu shouted, adjusting her grip on the collar as the dog's steady rhythm tossed them up and down in a steady and violent pattern. "HONDA, YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST!"

"Whaaaat? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" the snake on her arm shouted, tightly coiled and grinning almost madly. "THIS IS AWESOME! KEEP IT UP! GO, GO!"

"GLAD YOU THINK SO-ARU, I CAN'T STOP!" Woah woah woah woah-

WHAT. "WAIT, WHAT- WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'CAN'T STOP'!?" Anzu screeched, looking to the back of the dog's head in incredulity.

"I MEAN I'M GOING TOO FAST-ARU! IF I TRY TO STOP I'LL JUST CRASH-ARU!" Cr-

Cr-

"WHAT!"

The mood of the passengers fell considerably at that, Ren in particular giving a good long scream upon realizing his ride was a death trap. "WHAT THE HELL! GET ME OFF THIS THING IT AIN'T WORTH IT!"

"UM... I don't think that's a good idea-aru!" the dog responded, still pounding along the ground as Anzu struggled to keep hold on her now 'suicidal' snake.

"WELL THINK 'F SOMETHIN'!" Katsuya roared, the snakes holding him in place shiftin uncomfortably. "I'm gonna be sick!"

"I think I already am sick," added his sister, the others pulling slight faces at that.

"Please don't puke on me-aru!"

"Mrnnnn... If I do, please forgive me Honda-han..."

"W-WHAT!"

"Honda-kun," Yugi shouted over the grumbles, the dog momentarily cut from any thoughts of bile in his fur, "Are you sure you can't slow down gradually?"

There was a short bit of silence, the dog seeming to bow his head mid run before nodding. "I can try-aru, but isn't that a little counter-productive," he asked, a number of the passengers growing rather red with the protest.

"Gh... IT'S 'COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE' IF YOU CRASH US ALL!" came Otogi's angry shout, dog ducking his head as his fur bristled.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT-ARU, I'LL TRY, but-"

The dog cut off with a yelp, a large rumbling coming from behind them to throw his running off balance.

"Uhhhhh... What w's that?" Katsuya asked quickly, looking back as the others did the same.

"...Don't look now," Ren answered, comment all too late for the others, "But I think our tunnel is collapsing..."

"C-Collapsing?!" Yugi repeated, turning back with wide eyes as the darkness seemed to do just that. "A-AH!"

"HONDA! I TAKE BACK ALL I SAID!" Otogi shouted with a start, cracks of white appearing an filling the area behind them with an empty space that destroyed all in its path, "RUN LIKE HELL!!"

Honda suffice to say, was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

Back in the heat and steam filled air of the depths of what could well have been hell, little had changed after Seto's accusations. If anything there'd been a short span of silence as they paced each other, the taller of the pair narrowing his eyes in thought. "...So you know the truth then," Noa said almost in disappointment, Seto staring at the man from their positions at opposite ends of the craggy field. "Well... I suppose this simply means I can speak freely then," he chuckled, shaking his head with a laugh. "No secrets, no holding back... Yes. I am 'dead'," he said plainly, the woman before him narrowing her eyes in suspicion as he continued. "This body you see here... It could have been mine, but it's mere ashes now, and never had the chance... But that's only my body," the man added, a dark smirk on his face as his form seemed to steam and mist. "Just look," he called out as he pointed to the air. "THIS is my real body..."

His real one...

The blackened and ash covered clouds above began to swirl and spiral with Noa's words, converging almost in a tornado like fashion. Rather than spiralling down for such a thing however they were pushed aside by an enormous metal sphere, sitting amid the clouds almost like a sun. The sphere could barely even be called that however; metal rods and antennae spread out from its form, cracks and crevices lining its form in a circuit-like pattern. Occasionally small lights could be seen on the device, flickering on and off with some unknown message in mind amid the sun-like glow. This thing...

A super-computer she asked herself, looking to the device in confusion. But it couldn't be... It couldn't. The woman narrowed her eyes further, looking back to Noa and swallowing a wave of suspicion. "This thing..."

"My 'real' brain," the man finished, sinister and nearly maddening smirk in place. "My mind's electric signals and pulses are preserved within this machine, never dying, and always adapting... It's given me quite the power," he continued, misting from sight just as his opponent made to charge and break through whatever mental holds had been placed. "And I have to say," he chuckled, Seto's blade meeting nothing but steam and fog, "The advantages are endless, if not even 'boring' at times..." Gh-

Enough was enough! No more talking! "SHOW YOURSELF!" she snarled, the smoking form of the man appearing behind her with those very words. "I- GH-!"

Behind her! Noa chuckled as the woman reeled on him, misting from existence once again as a sword sliced through his 'body'. "Really," he sighed, shaking his head and re-appearing far to the woman's left. "Haven't you learned yet? This isn't real... All your energy is being wasted," the man continued, opponent pulling herself upright yet again to turn on him, "Spent on nothing but a running 'dream'..."

Dreams and illusions... "Believe me," Seto growled, pointing her blade forward. "It will be no dream when I get to the body you hold in the real world..."

"If you manage to get there," her opponent added, crossing his arms as he sighed.

...'If'? He said that almost as though he expected her to win despite his own intentions; a true fact of course, but for him to admit it...

"I don't have to take you after all," Noa whispered, chuckling darkly as his opponent frowned and paled. "You're 'imperfect', a failed 'copy' created for the sole purpose of furthering my existence. And I... Well I could be _anyone_ ," he hissed, body shrinking and slimming before the woman's eyes.

Hair grew out, stood on end... Eyes grew wider, yet sharper nonetheless as 'Yugi' seemed to brush a lock of still green hair from his face. As his clothing altered and shifted into more 'familiar' attire. This...

"See?" Noa asked, the voice of her rival echoing through the air. "I could be a partner, a 'rival'," he offered, walking forward and smoking from existence as he changed again. "Or perhaps someone you're more curious about," the 'boy' continued in an echo, appearing to the side as hair lengthened and flattened to a more 'average' style to match with a taller, clearly feminine build. This...

Kisara, her mind told her, the copy's blue eyes narrowing in mirth as the body again shifted. And in a shuddering wave of smoke the 'woman' vanished from sight completely, only for a familiar voice to come from beside her ear in a low and seductive tone.

"Perhaps maybe even a lover," 'Jonouchi' whispered, the woman he spoke to barely able to turn and stare at what stood before her. L-

He dared to suggest... That...

That..! Eyes shook with rage but the woman nonetheless held silent, 'blond' hair before her coloured to match Noa's own lighter hue with a dark expression far unlike the mutt. "Hnhnhnhnhn... I've hit a sore point," 'Jonouchi' chuckled, hands stowed in his pockets with a now white uniform jacket loosely hanging open on his form. "I wonder," the teen began, "Just how much you know about him... Does he know you forgot about him?" he asked, Seto shaking on the spot as a growl developed in her throat. "Or does he simply pass off that time as 'coma-recovery'? Perhaps you don't even care," the young man continued, slowly walking around his target as she stared in shocked silence. "Perhaps you're even confused, curious about this 'boy' who pays such attention to you... Why, he'd do anything for you!" he laughed, a wide and crazed grin on his face for just a brief moment as he laughed. "Even 'die'... So tell me," the teen whispered, walking closer as his target stood frozen in place, unable to move despite her body and mind both screaming for her to do so. "What do you want to 'change'?" C...

Change..?

"Perhaps 'tha' accen' 'f his'?" he whispered in a hauntingly familiar tone, Seto's blade slowly glowing with flames as the fires leaped from the metal. "Perhaps that stubborn intent to do the opposite of what you prefer," he continued, "Who knows... I can do that," Noa hissed, fading from sight to mist directly behind the woman and place a hand on her shoulder. "If you just let me take his place..." This...

"You twisted _BASTARD_ -! Don't even TOUCH me!" Smoke blew out from the blade's path as she reeled on the 'teen', eyes blazing as she ground her teeth and turned toward where he re-appeared in a mist. No effort to take the form of one she knew had been made this time, not that she cared as she charged the again 'adult' 'Noa Kaiba'. "You say I exist, that my pain and life exist because of YOU?" she roared, swinging the blade downward in a violent release of rage. "That I'm no more than a 'FAILSAFE'? A 'COPY' meant to REPLACE you?! Don't FUCK with me!" Seto roared, blade cutting through smoke and nothing but smoke as her opponent was steadily forced back against the stone cliffs beneath them. "Don't even think for a moment that you have anything to do with me! This is _my_ life," she hissed, "And it has been since the moment I was born. And to those who even think to interfere with the path's I've created," Seto continued with a snarl, "I will exact the most powerful force that this world has ever known!" she screamed, bringing her sword forward once again. "HRAAAAAH-! Gh-!"

Eyes widened as the blade in her hands seemed to dissolve, her opponent doing the same as he 'smoked' into existence across the lava filled chasm. "Hnnn... You resist so strongly," he sighed, spinning his opponent's sword in his hand as Seto clenched her fists from across the impossible divide between the two. "You should be relieved at what I'm doing," Noa snorted, shaking his head at the woman before him. "To take your body would mean to leave you here, with no worries to distract you, with nothing to hide from... And yet you continue to fight."

"Words are useless after all," she snarled, clenching her fists. "What use would a life be if everything you did was decided so easily?"

A smirk appeared on her 'brother's face with the accusation, eyes narrowing to mere slits as a wind blew past. "True... Words have a place, and this isn't it... Well then," he chuckled, snapping his fingers as lava erupted into geysers around him, "We should start moving... You still have the same deck from last time correct?" he asked, Seto narrowing her eyes and nodding nonetheless. "Then choose-"

"I have my deckmaster," Seto growled, armor already shifting as it became lined with violet scales and coloured in blue. Her cape and hat were replaced, and though the sword she'd held before was not she brought a foot back into a more battle ready stance nonetheless. "The Kaiser Seahorse..."

At this Noa seemed to nod, stance almost carelessly casual as he gave a 'bow'. "In that case," he chuckled darkly, "Ladies first..."

Had she received any other cards in her hand at that moment, she'd have attempted to leap the canyon to run her opponent through right then. It wouldn't have mattered that she had no sword to wield; her hands would have been enough, and she'd have strangled the son-of-a-bitch to death if she had to. Or even simply run him through with her bare hands. As it turned out however victory was already on her side, with the perfect combo already set to come into fruition.

"Tch... I summon the 'Giant Germ'," she called out almost bitterly, the amoeba rising from a mist of water that had no source nor place in the volcanic terrain. "In addition," the woman muttered, "A card face down... End turn." This boy had made numerous mistakes in capturing and tormenting her.

Challenging her and harming those two would be the last thing he would ever recall having done.

* * *

Light had become visible in the distance as they struggled to hold onto the dog before them, the snakes making up his mane beginning to loosen their hold. They couldn't even see their guide any more now that the run was unstoppable, and by this point it had become apparent that it was not just the crumbling wall behind them that kept Honda running.

He hadn't been lying when he said he couldn't stop.

"H-HUAA _AAAAAHHH!_ " And in all honesty, he wished he didn't know that.

"HONDA-HAN!" Shizuka was screaming, one of her hands slipping from the ring of snakes and steel.

"HONDAAAAA!" the others were crying, those on the edges staring forward with wide eyes.

The screams were endless, and the coming destruction behind was devastating true. But the light at least, offered them a bit of hope. It was only faint, but within seconds he was seeing more than just a precognitive flash of the image, his eyes widening further as the blinding glare moved forward.

"L-LIGHT!" he cried, a grin coming over him. "We made it! IT'S LIGHT!"

"It's the exit!" Yugi shouted in agreement, eyes wide as he clung to the still present collar of (thankfully) emotionless serpents. "HONDA-KUN!" he called out, "WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"

Their ride nodded, a doggish grin on his face. "And not a moment too soon-aru! This is-"

The dog abruptly cut off as he leaped forward from the edge of the 'end', eyes widening as his paws met with the air.

"AH-AH-AA _AHHHRAOUFF!_ "

"H-HAAHHH!"

"NO FLOOR!" No shit!

It was likely luck that saved them from being turned into burnt ashes. From where Honda had run through the air a platform of stone had come into view from directly above, and though the shock had shrunk him down to 'puppy' size it had nonetheless saved everyone from falling to a firey death. As to just where they were however, with nothing but heat and an ashen sky to give them an idea for a moment...

"Hnnngg..." The blond grunted, weakly pulling himself to his hands and knees as he winced. "Oww oww oww..." That...

Was one hell of an exit...

Who the hell knew what Noa's 'realm' was though, if this was even it. "Owwww... That hurrrrrrts," Ren hissed, slowly creeping from under Anzu's arm while the woman stood to grimace. "My everywhere hurts... Ahhhh..."

"Your 'spine' then?" Honda barked quietly, wincing himself as his 'collar' shook itself out. "And here I thought you didn't have one-aru."

The snake instantly pulled himself from whatever pained grumbles he had, hood flaring as he turned on the dog. "I SWEAR IT YOU DAMNED BARKING-RAT, _I'M GONNA_ -"

"Where... Where is this?" Anzu muttered, the others standing to look around in confusion as they ignored the arguing duo at the side. "A volcano..?"

"No... A volcano would be different," Shizuka muttered with a swallow, holding her spear close. "This is similar, but it's not a 'volcano'. More of a molten plain, but where it is specifically..." The girl shook her head, biting her lip. "I can't be sure really..."

Well that was just great. Katsuya frowned, before a shout from the side and around a small growth of stone caught his attention, the wall only partially blocking their view of the field beyond. _'Summon Chiron the Mage,_ ' a voice announced, the blond freezing as he came around the stone to see the sight of an already in-progress duel. ' _ATTACK MODE!_ ' Monsters...

"Aw hell," he muttered, the others following his gaze as Seto hurriedly leaped back from the attacking warrior's staff. "This is..."

Noa was adult. As in his 'actual' age, hovering somewhat in the air with a confident grin and a white suit nearly identical to his old last clothes. He was an adult, and facing Seto in battle at his own mental core. That was never good...

Yet as the others came around to stare he found himself unable to speak on the matter, the only one of them with a loose enough tongue catching himself in shock after mere seconds. "K-Kaiba-san!" Yugi had called out, eyes wide as the woman froze from behind her bare-handed block to Chiron's staff. "And Noa!"

"Gh- Yugi?!" she shouted through disguised tones, throwing her opponent's monster back. "You-" The duel screeched to a halt as the shout rang through the air, a frighteningly crazed grin appearing on Noa's face as he turned to look at the crowd.

"Ohhh... Well would you look at that?" the man chuckled, stance instantly shifting to that of confidence and superiority as opposed to the careless and playful one he'd held seconds prior in the air. "Your friends are here," he said almost teasingly, Seto snarling from the side.

"Gh... NOA..."

"Now now," the man shouted with a smirk, shaking his head as he laughed. "Don't be so upset... They've barely missed a thing," he called out in reassurance. "In fact they're just in time..." Just in time..?

But for what? The blond's questions were quickly answered as their captor continued to chuckle, adjusting the jacket on his shoulders with a sneer.

"This game has a 'plan' after all," Noa was saying, pacing his side of the chasm as he grinned and landed upon the ground. "A 'plan', a 'story'... A 'Genesis'. But before we begin," he continued with an accusing point to his opponent, "There seems to be a problem; while it will take seven turns to complete my heaven and earth, there's a flaw standing before me in the design, a black smudge on my realm! Only truth can stand before me," Noa warned, a smirk remaining on his face as both Yugi and Katsuya paled with cold suspicion. "No lies can remain in my path... I've been sharing nothing but facts with you, and with all of your friends of course," the man went on, throwing his hands out as he shook his head. "And you've been guests in my lands, you've all travelled to my own personal realms... But while I've answered all of your questions," he sneered, the crowd at the side narrowing their eyes as Seto as well paled and dropped her scowl for a chilled look of blank horror, "There's someone here who hasn't been completely honest with you at all..."

"What..." Shizuka frowned, shaking her head as the others stared in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she managed to ask, the others merely narrowing their eyes further as both Yugi and Katsuya stepped back to stand against the stone wall and trade fear-filled glances. Don't ask don't ask don'-

"'What do you mean'?" Shit.

"Oh my..." Noa asked, eyes narrowing in cruel mirth as he looked toward the crowd. "So she didn't tell you then..?"

"Ah- She?" Anzu repeated blankly, mad laughter filling the air. No...

No no no no n-

"Hnhnhnhnhnhn... Hnh _nHAHAHAA_! Really!" the man called out, lava rising from the chasms behind him, "How horrible! You shouldn't lie to your friends, Kaseri!" With the snap of Noa's fingers wind blasted across the molten plain, Seto throwing her arms up in defense as a blinding light and a wave of lava blocked her from view. The heat slammed against each of them, and amid the burning lava a shadow could be seen.

"GH- NOA!" the woman could be heard shouting, voice still disguised despite earlier comments. "YOU-" And then there was silence.

And when the lava fell, Seto's voice had no more need for a disguise, not that she spoke after that fact. For as the woman stood frozen, her armor vanished and replaced with clothing she had never even come close to wearing. The unisex tunic and gauntlets were tightened and slimmed into a white t-shirt, the hat and cape that so hid her figure destroyed completely. Boots were replaced with simple shoes, and as the others stared in a similar shock, mere mutterings leaving their lips, the pants had already long been changed into something else. And as Katsuya held his breath his friend was doing the same, both boys pressing their backs against the stone with bit lips and wide eyes.

Oo _ohhh_ hell he thought, staring at the woman before him as the field fell silent for a brief moment. Ohhhh shit...

"K-K-Kai..." Otogi couldn't even finish saying the woman's name as the 'hips' he'd been glancing at were revealed in full, the fairly revealing gym-uniform bottoms leaving little excuses to prove him wrong this time around.

"Sh... Shoujo..." Honda momentarily lost his canine 'tic', his own jaw dropping as eyes honed in on a narrowed waist that had been too difficult to discern amid the black cloth of the real world and the blinding light from the draconic deckmaster seen hours prior.

"O-Ojou," Anzu and Shizuka both choked, only for Ren's shout to echo even further above the field as Noa gauged each of their reactions.

"B-B-BNAT!"

And as Seto stood, frozen in the very much revealing women's gym uniform, only one other statement could be heard before the duelist finally snapped.

"Like your new clothes?" Noa was cheerfully asking, still fiddling with the sword he'd confiscated from her moments before. "I designed it from memory." There was only one way to put this he decided quickly, Seto's gaze moving slowly from her own body to her opponent as knuckles audibly cracked in the air.

Noa was fucked.


	19. Secrets and Truths

It wasn't real she told herself with wide eyes, shaking on the spot despite all her mind telling her to snap herself from these thoughts and fight. It wasn't real, _it wasn't real_ , it was all just an illusion and those behind her would do well to realize this.

It wasn't real, it was never real, but there were too many little uncertainties that were made legitimate with this revelation- a billowing coat to hide clearly feminine hips, a turtle neck to hide her throat. There were too many reactions to point to the truth. Silence from the 'mutt', shock from herself, dull horror from her rival at the side as Noa sneered in amusement. And as her opponent's monster held his mirrored shield across from her, the glass of her face down trap shattering with her 'giant germ' to disintegrate into the air, the woman found herself frozen in minute shock. Staring...

Simply staring, first at her own horrified reflection and then at herself.

There were voices from the side, she could hear them.

' _K... K... Kai..._ ' They couldn't even say her name properly any more...

Haha... Hah...

Most weren't even trying to bother with that.

' _Shoujo,_ ' she heard instead, the woman looking over herself as a warm breeze blew past her largely bare legs, a sight she had only ever seen when either showering or simply changing. _'O-Ojou,_ ' the others cried in a failed attempt of politeness, her body shaking with rage as her eyes quivered over the sight of herself. _'Bnat_ ,' the childish snake at the side screamed, the word clearly foreign and indiscernible. Of course even as unknown as the word was, she had a feeling she knew what that meant.

'Girl', they were shouting, 'Girl', 'Girl', _'Girl'_! They knew now. About her gender, about her identity, about this weakness created by simply holding up strength and holding the mask. They knew...

They... KNEW...

Everything!

_And this scum was even now speaking.._!

"Do you like the clothes?" Noa asked, Seto's eyes snapping forward as they caught her reflection in the glass once again. White t-shirt, almost navy-blue 'shorts' if they could even be called that, with how similar they were in appearance to a mere pair of underwear... Black shoes, white socks, and the only thing that revealed her deck master's identity was some sort of marking around her upper arms and throat, a 'tattoo'. Her breasts were for the first time in a long time, unbound while in another's presence, there was nothing to hide her body within. This 'man'...

This _BOY_ , she corrected in silent rage, slowly growing red as she clenched her fists.

"...I made them from memory... Hnhnhnhnhn..."

Screw the disguise. Screw the voice, the clothes, the disadvantages meant _nothing_ , this brat was going down if it killed her! "Gh... Hk..." No. Matter. What.

Knuckles cracked as her fists clenched still tighter, and with a sudden roar that forced the crowd into silence she charged forward. "NOAA _AAA_!" she snarled, proving to those at the side just how real this ploy was. There was no need to cover this voice now she thought, bringing her fist back for a punch as she made her move and chased the now backing-away warrior. No need at all. "Sacrifice the Giant Germ!" she spat, move already underway as thick and almost moth-eaten bandages appeared around her arms and palms, "And summon the Vampire Lord, weapon mode!" the woman continued, the wrapping seeming to glow ominously as she ran. "HHHA _AAAAAH_!"

A shattering sound clattered over the air, the glass of Chiron's shield spiderwebbing into a series of cracks. The mirror before her showed only a broken form of her reflection before shattering into pieces, the glass scattering to the ground as Chiron stepped back yet again. "Oh... So your monster regenerates?" Noa was saying, the shield dissipating from the sides as his monster hurriedly ducked under a second strike. "Well... That's troublesome..." Hn!

Not as troublesome as this, she thought mid-strike, moving forward with all the speed and force of a ragefilled tornado. "HHHAA!" A second blow to the monster was made following that punch. Seto's fist coming down as her leg moved to kick the monster swiftly across the face, a sickening crack coming through the air to match the side kick's swift pull back. Even if the blow itself hadn't snapped its neck, the monster's eyes dilating as it became unable to breath, it would have died; from the force of the blow it was sent toward the lava and into the chasm bellow, and as its killer charged forward to leap off the beast as a crude stepping stone its face was even further decided with a voiceless and horrified scream.

"TCH... Noa... Just because you have my personal thoughts to use against me does not mean you're the superior one!" she snarled, again bringing her fist back as she took aim. "TAKE THIS!" Dust filled the air as Seto's fist struck the ground, Noa having vanished in a cloud of smoke upon dodging. A small crater was all that remained, and as the man re-appeared to the side the woman turned on him with a low growl. To go on and on about 'fair fights' only to constantly teleport throughout the field...

What point was it all if she did nothing! Yet the man seemed different despite this; his hair was slightly singed, and his jacket was now missing from his shoulders, apparently lost to whatever flames caught the fabric from the heat. It was only a moment of relief that she had at this sight however; for despite this change he seemed perfectly fine, even clapping from where he hovered above the chasm beyond her reach.

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Seto stared, frozen in shock for a moment as the man laughed, her opponent's eyes narrowed with mirth. "Wonderful... Wonderful!" he laughed, opponent continuing to clench her fists in a building rage. "You've made me discard a monster and dealt damage to my lifepoints within one move, despite apparent disadvantages," the man sneered, seemingly emphasizing the last phrase with a grin. "Why... You aren't even phased by what I just did, are you?" he chuckled, the woman across from him gritting her teeth. A time and place she told herself, shaking on the spot as she held herself back. A time and place! If she attacked now she'd fall into the chasm before she even made contact, she couldn't move- "Ah, but you know," Noa sighed, opponent preparing for any attack that the man could make, "Those bandages look absolutely horrible on you..." The-

What..? Before she could say a thing a wave of energy grew around the man's hand, Seto's eyes widening briefly as the next words met her ears.

"FISSURE!" the man announced, a sudden blast of stone and wind throwing the woman back with a shout. "Destroying the Vampire Lord bound to your arms!"

"GH! HCK!" Stone cracked against Seto's back as she was flung against one of the cavern walls, ribs cracking on impact as the bandages on her arms smoked from existence. Her monster was gone... Along the stone wall the woman swallowed back a small bit of blood, hands slowly reaching up to pull herself to her feet. "Hah... Hahhh..." Alright...

That didn't work. But the vampire would come back next turn at least, and-

"Summon Ares!" she heard her opponent shout, the woman looking up with wide eyes as the monster appeared from the smoke and ground to charge forward in silence. "ATTACK!" Shit.

"GNH _AAAGH_!" Blood spurted from her stomach and mouth both as the warrior's spear was slammed through her body, Seto gritting her teeth as shouts came from the side. ' _Kaiba_ ', most were shouting, confusion, pity and a whole number of things that would otherwise not exist present in their tones. ' _KAIBA-SAN_ ,' came Yugi's cry, ' _Kaiba-han_ ,' from Shizuka. The spear was pinning her to the stone itself, her body almost hanging limp across the cliffside. ' _KAIBA!'_

_'SETO-CHAN!'_

The woman's eyes flew open with that shout, gaze honing in on the monster before her as her attentions were pulled back into reality. S... _Jonouchi_! She told him not to call her that damn it! And-

"Gnh..." God...

Her chest... "Is this really the best you had?" Noa chuckled from before her, standing in mid air behind the monster he'd summoned. Seto merely leered upward as a glass set card shimmered at her opponent's side, blood coating the stone and the spear shaft embedded in her body. "Really?" the man was saying with a sigh, "You aren't taking me seriously at all! Maybe I _would_ make a better you," he laughed, body shifting and twisting before her very eyes as she was met with close to a 'double' of herself. As hair lengthened to the point it would have been without the disguise, as clothing shifted into a uniform identical to hers, hips and breasts came into view... "...It isn't like my name doesn't suit it after all," 'she' sneered, Seto's eyes quivering as she looked upon the being. That...

"YOU..." That. Was.

IT! A hand flung up to the spear in her stomach, pulling at it as she breathed hoarsely. Her opponent's monster was growing pale now, and the bandages from her vampire were reappearing... It was her turn again and like hell she was just sitting by while THEY were watching, and while THIS person had her brother!

"Hahhh... Hahhhh... H _AHHH.._! I summon the Slate Warrior!" she hissed, the spear cracking in her grip as the shoes on her feet 'glowed' and covered themselves with stone, "WEAPON MODE! And if you think that I'm through," the woman snarled, pulling the spear from her body and gripping it in her hands, as a sick suction-like noise followed the removal from her chest, "You can think again! I ATTACK!" she roared, the spear's tip swung forward to pierce the monster's throat as she jumped to leap across the warrior's skull, " AND NOW-"

"Activate trap," Noa stated calmly, eyes narrowed as 'she' easily dodged the next strike kicked from his opponent. "'Earth Shaker'. I'm going to choose two attributes, Dark and Wind," she said calmly, narrowing her eyes as she grabbed the next leg flung toward her. "And you pick which one to destroy. ...Tainting this world with your demons again," the woman growled, sending a kick of her own into Seto's face as her opponent was sent skidding across the ground, "I'd thought you'd have learned the first time..!"

"NGH!" Stones dug into the wound on her chest, Seto pulling herself up to wipe her cheek of whatever blood had run into her mouth before growling. This 'World'? Could it even be called such a thing? "Hn! Demons suit this place perfectly," she spat in response, the bandages on her arms vanishing nonetheless as she made her decision. "But I'll choose the Vampire Lord regardless... You can pretend to be the God of your own little world all you want!" Seto continued, running toward Noa once again, "But no matter what you do, you're going to hell!"

Chuckling met the air as the next strikes were again dodged, Noa easily skipping backward before jumping back into the air. "Hn! Hell? Quite accurate," her opponent retorted as the woman charged, "For we've entered the first turn of creation! Verse 5, chapter 6 of the book of Genesis," she sneered, the sound of a thundering storm coming over the air as winds sliced at any bare skin there was. "' _The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become_ ,'” Noa quoted, “' _And that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth...'_ So he created a flood," Noa continued with a darkening grin, the woman before her growing pale as water appeared from beyond and above the cavern's walls, "And did just that... GIANT FLOOD." Oh great.

A God-Complex with a themed deck... Just beautiful.

"W... Water... WATER!" those at the sides shouted, Seto unable to even roar in her distaste as she was thrown back by the powerful waves of the sea. Her senses were completely stripped from her being as rocks were pounded from existence and water filled the field. Her hearing was thrown out of synch, her eyes blinded, and her feeling numbed by the cold of ocean waters, leaving her unable to see, hear, think even save for the slight 'feeling' she had in her mind concerning the fight. The bandages on her arms would not return, that much she knew...

Nor would the now eroded stone rims from her shoes, the embodiment of the Slate Warrior's power being washed away by the torrent that flung her about. She was underwater...

She needed air...

Ghn... N _gghg._.. "BLG- GHAH!" Seto burst out atop the waves as she gasped for air, taking swift long strokes toward the nearest sign of 'land' before clambering on top of what was a tiny pinnacle of rock. "Hah... Hah... Hah..." Hands shook as they clutched the side of the stone, slowly pulling herself further up as she choked. Tch...

Her weapons were gone she realized with a scowl, looking over herself in distaste. And her clothes were soaked, the tight clothing leaving a clear hole from Ares' attack visible for any to see the now cleansed and gaping wound.

"...Hn! At least the brat had the decency to give me a bra," she hissed, the white fabric of her t-shirt sticking quite closely to her body for the moment. Because the fact that her 'audience' was primarily made of those she _knew_ were the sort to ogle was bad enough right? Pathetic little obsessive-

"Hnh _nhnhnhnhn_..."

Seto's eyes narrowed as chuckling came over the air, the woman standing atop her small rock and looking about the sea with a scowl. Nothing, she thought to herself, clenching her fists. Nothing-

Or so she thought. The woman turned to the side as a splashing sound came over the air, scowl still set on her face only for it to drop, eyes to widening as an enormous ark arose from the depths below.

Almost box like in appearance the waters broke from around the device, an enormous tablet covered in symbols standing tall in the center of the ship. The ship however was not what caught her eye, despite its archaic form and gargantuan size. Rather it was the owner, now dressed in what looked to be almost ceremonial robes from the northern lands, who did so. Noa leaped forward from the side of the ark, still holding the feminine form of her counterpart as she came to a stop above the waves and smirked.

"H- You..." She was walking on the water, she told herself with a swallow, staring in shock as her opponent chuckled. _Walking_ on the...

"Meet my 'deck master'," Noa sneered, gesturing behind her with a grin as she came to a stop a fair distance from her opponent. "The Ark of Shinato... The vessel of the Gods and the Herald to the Battle of the Heavens!"

* * *

Figuring out how to deal with the whole 'Seto's a girl' thing was both harder and easier than it could have been, he found. For the moment Yugi and Katsuya were both holding their distance, Seto fairly frozen on the field for the moment as the others muttered amongst themselves. Maybe they hadn't noticed that they weren't saying anything yet, and maybe they weren't...

But he sure as hell wasn't going to ask right now.

"A trick," Anzu was saying with a laugh, shaking her head nervously as an incredulous and possibly crazed smile came over her face. "This... This has to be a bluff," she continued to laugh, "There's... He just can't be..."

And yet Seto's voice was not the same as her disguise, what with there being no use for it, so the argument fell short. The others as well had their own takes on the situation, their own ways to deal with it.

"...I KNEW I wasn't seeing things-aru!"

"You-" Otogi turned to the dog at that, eyes wide as he shook himself. "WAIT, so it wasn't just me then!"

The dog merely snorted in response, while the cobra on Anzu's head stared somewhat awkwardly at the field. "Hey, am I the only one mildly turned on by this?" he asked, his partner choking immediately. "What- Ewwwww, you're a piece of my soul Ren!"

"...Hnnn... And just what does that mean I wonder," Otogi muttered, both he and Honda looking to their friend as she stared. "Wha- No! NO!" she hurriedly shouted, shuddering and shaking her head. "NOOOOOO, AUUUUGH... Definitely NOT, I- They're practically being _tortured_!"

"G-Guys?" Shizuka coughed, the others turning forward as the woman before them clenched her fists. "If this is a bluff, then... Then Kaiba-han is taking it quite well," she choked, Seto in question moving to charge as her opponents words came across the field.

_"Gh... ...NOAAAAAA!_ " Oh yeah.

That was definitely well. He'd just be hiding behind this rock now...

"Alright, now one of you has to admit that's hot," Ren said with a teasing grin, the serpent quickly grabbed by his disgusted partner.

"REN..."

"Actually, despite most of me arguing against it," Honda said nervously, "I'd have to agree-aru..."

"...Eh..? I was joking..."

"Oh."

"H-Hah... But this... This can't be real right?" Otogi coughed, he as well going somewhat red as the woman on the field charged and attacked her opponent with a shout. "I mean... This is Noa's realm, he could still be messing with our heads... He probably is, I mean..." Yeah... Yeah just keep believing that...

"That's right," Anzu said with a nod, laughing somewhat nervously, fingers digging into her staff as she attempted to calm down. "It's all just... One big misunderstanding," she laughed, before drawing back as Seto was thrown down by Noa's spell. "Gh...You're right though," she said with a swallow, the woman on field pulling herself up with minor difficulty, "He's taking it oddly well..."

" _Because 'he' is not a 'he', is she?_ " Katsuya's stowaway muttered, the blond swallowing as he shook. " _And this... Is no bluff._ " No... No it wasn't, it wasn't and...

"...Jonouchi-kun," Yugi whispered with a swallow, the blond not answering as another shout came over the air. "Jonouchi-kun, if something happens-"

"SUMMON ARES!" Noa roared, steam and lava rising from the ground to form the warrior as the spearman charged toward his fallen opponent, "AND ATTACK!" Attack...

No... No...

"KAIBA!” the crowd roared, the woman's own shout cut short by the spear that dug through her stomach and left her hanging limply on the stone, "KAIBA-SAN!" "KAIBA-HAN," Shizuka and Yugi both cried, Katsuya merely freezing in place as he looked down at the cliffs.

She wasn't moving... Her eyes were beginning to close over, and she wasn't moving, she-

"Se... SETO-CHAN!" he screamed, eyes wide. "SETO-CHAN!"

It was as though the world stood still, that moment.

Before the crowd could turn and question him Seto responded. Her eyes snapped open and as Noa taunted her she made her move, eyes wide with rage. The spear in her stomach was shattered and pulled free, her attack made as she pushed forward, kicking off the monster in a roar...

And throughout all of this the others turned back with wide eyes, slowly finding the words to say as they stared. "N-Nihan," Shizuka whispered, her brother quickly realizing what he'd said as both he and Yugi bit their lips and swallowed. "You..."

"...Noa said... 'Kaseri', aru," Honda muttered, the dog swallowing as the others stared and allowed him to continue. "Kaseri... Like the name of that girl you mentioned earlier this year-aru... The name of the girl you mentioned on Valentines," he continued, tilting his head as he looked awkwardly away.

"You said the kanji were 'se' and 'hito'," Anzu whispered almost hysterically, holding her head as the pieces fell into place one by one. "And that she was blunt, cold, and tall..."

"You always slip up," his sister added, rubbing her arms and looking away nervously. "You say _'konojou_ ' sometimes, and before you say 'Kaiba' you always say 'Se' or 'Seto'..."

"Sometimes even 'Seto-chan'," Otogi continued, seeming to bite his lip as his friend looked away.

"Gh..." There was no hiding it now, was there... The secret was... "...Guys..."

They didn't say anything. His friends, his sister, they merely stared, waiting for him to explain, to tell him what this meant, and what everything meant, and just where to begin was...

" _...Well_ ," the spirit in his mind muttered, " _This is going to be awkward..._ " Ah-

It was awkward enough without him damn it!

Yugi continued to bite his lip, before stepping forward with a nervous swallow. "I... We can explain about Kaiba-san later," he said quickly, the others swallowing as they stared to the boy in confusion. "It's true," the boy said with a swallow, seeming to almost look away as he spoke. "Kaiba-san is a woman; I found out not too long ago myself," he explained, "But both Jonouchi-kun and I promised to keep it secret. And more importantly... We can't let that get in our way right now," Yugi pressed, shouts covering the field as Seto in question continued her fight. "We can't let this distract her, no matter what!"

"Ah..." The others again swallowed, looking to each other for a moment. "Y... You say that-aru, but..."

"Like Yugi said," Katsuya cut in, swallowing back a wave of unease as the others stared. "We can' let th's distract 'er! Noa's got Mokuba... An' he's already screwin' with her head enough," the blond pushed, gesturing somewhat to the field. "You might not know much abou' her but... But I..."

He...

Katsuya paused momentarily, the others watching almost expectantly. "...I don' wan' her t' lose, no matter what," he finally whispered, bowing his head as his face flushed red. "She can' lose... So we need t' make sure tha' no matter what, she doesn'! Nothin's changed," he continued, steeling his resolve as the others stared, their friend looking up and stepping forward with a determined gaze. "Seto-chan 's Seto-chan, no matter what we all call 'er. Jus' cause th's is out in th' open doesn' mean she ain't gonna fight," the blond pressed. "So lets cheer her on, got it?"

"J-Jonouchi," Otogi muttered, swallowing as he and the others stepped back somewhat.

"Nihan..."

"Got it?" he repeated, before a rumbling noise tore through the air. The sound briefly came across almost as a 'snap', a breaking dam. As though a barrier had been broken, and as he looked to the side Katsuya's eyes widened, the others following his gaze before they could give an answer to his words. Something blue was approaching...

Something big... Something...

Wet.

The group's eyes widened as they stared at the oncoming waves, stepping back with wide eyes despite there being nowhere to go. "N-Nihan," Shizuka squeaked, grip on her spear tightening as she looked to her brother. "I agree with you completely... But we need to run!" she said with a swallow, the others nodding furiously.

Ren laughed somewhat hysterically at the chorus of agreement, swallowing as he turned to the girl. "H-Hah... RUN?" he shouted incredulously, rising from Anzu's shoulder to gesture to the side. "That's WATER! ...WATER!" he repeated, eyes wide as he coiled back up in fear. "We're on a tiny little cliff," he moaned, "Where are we supposed to RUN!"

Ohhhh crap. Katsuya clutched his staff, the others quickly sent into panic as they looked at the lava below. Nowhere to run, nowhere to stay...

"AH... AH... Oh! I got an idea-aru! Quick!" Honda shouted, bounding up and down as he barked, "Grab onto my-"

Whatever the dog said next was drowned out by waves as the crowd was blown back, water filling their lungs and ears both as they were tossed about in the searing torrents. They were separated, divided by the currents. A dim light could be seen from above, from Noa's 'computer' he knew for some reason. As they sank however, a shadow passed over them. Something sharp grabbed his arms, pulling him upward as he attempted to breathe, and as he attempted to acknowledge the pin-prick sensations in his arms. Everyone was being pulled up in fact...

By a series of long, snake like tendrils, rising toward one great and huge shadow... Wait...

Snake- _like_? "GHAH!" Blond hair broke the water, the pricks in his arms vanishing at that very moment as he looked around in confusion. "W-What..."

"WUAHH!"

"AIR!" came Ren's cry, the serpent clambering onto the blackened 'land' they'd been pulled to as still other shouts broke the waters. "I thought we were dead!"

"Hah... Hah... We almost were," Anzu continued, breathing haggardly as she pulled up on the 'land' to spit out a wave of salty seawater. "But where..."

A sigh of relief came from around them, their friend's somewhat robotized voice meeting the air. "Haaaaaaah... Man," Honda sighed, voice seemingly coming from nowhere. "I didn't think that would work-aru..." Ummmmm...

"...Where's Honda-han?" Shizuka muttered nervously, looking around only to jump back as something shook water out from the front. "GH-" AH-

Water! A large hound's head turned, somewhat red eyes staring forward as the mane of snakes on his neck pulled the last of their group upward from the seas. "Hey! You alright-aru?" Um... S-Sure...

As good as he could be being rescued by a mane of poisonous snakes... "H-Hah... N-Never better," Katsuya wheezed, staring almost blankly as the others swallowed and looked down at what was apparently the dog's back. "Er... H-Honda..."

"I can't see any land-aru... We'll have to work with this," he continued, paddling forward as Seto herself clambered onto a small spire of rock far in the distance. "Just that-aru, and I don't think Kaiba will be too happy to see us," he added with a whine, ears pulling back somewhat while a reptilian tail acted as a rudder.

"Got that right," Otogi said with a swallow, Yugi sitting beside him to stare forward with a worried and attentive eye. "He... She's probably absolutely pissed," he muttered, shaking his head. Pissed?

Ohhhhh... "Tha's puttin' it lightly," Katsuya groaned, before choking as a shadow rose in the distance beyond the woman in question. "An' oh _hhhh_ hell," he hissed, drawing back as Honda abruptly turned to avoid the waves of water sent scattering by the device. "T-That..."

"It's a ship!" Shizuka shouted with a swallow, answering Yugi's muttered and unfinished question with wide eyes. "An ark..!"

"It's more than that!" the snake on Honda's back continued, the dog having turned to allow them a proper view of the device as he himself stared. "Look- Something's coming out of the water," he shouted, hood flared in caution and agitation both.

"More like 'lots of somethings'..."

As Otogi said this a number of geysers erupted from the seas, each converging toward the tip of the tablet above before becoming absorbed on its stone cover. Images appeared on its form, carvings of monsters both 'dead' and 'alive'. The Giant Germ in the form of a few circles, the Vampire Lord as a caped 'man'...

"What the hell is this?" the teen muttered, narrowing his eyes as he looked to the tablet's design. "What..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Far in the distance a woman could be seen at the head of the arc, wind blowing hair back in a constant 'cape'. A woman dressed in the robes of a culture that completely contrasted that of the ship's own, a large hat reaching almost to her brow despite the amount of hair that was in the way. There was something similar about her though he realized, narrowing his eyes as the form became clearer in the foggy air. Something... The woman leaped down from the ark, walking forward across the waters as ripples appeared beneath her feet. "Meet my deckmaster," she sneered, the ark floating on the seas behind her, as she gestured back. "The Ark of Shinato... The vessel of the Gods and the Herald to the Battle of the Heavens!"

"The ark of shinato?" Honda repeated blankly, before his fur bristled and the dog tensed. "AH! N-NOA!"

"He... He turned himself into a girl?" Anzu shouted incredulously, the others narrowing their eyes in confusion as Otogi grew pale and coughed.

"Agggh... ...If I didn't know why, she'd actually be very hot right now," he muttered, holding his head with a pained moan. "Someone please tell me that's not as bad as I think..."

"Er... No... No Otogi, tha's fuckin' creepy," his friend responded, pulling back from the teen with a swallow as the dancer scowled. "Hihhhh... What th' hell kinda monster is tha' anyways," he continued, shaking his head. "It's... A gian' BOAT!"

"It's not even a monster!" the snake on Anzu's shoulder growled, hood flaring somewhat more as he spat at the air. "That's a SPELL!"

"But you can't use spells for deckmasters," Yugi protested, shaking his head as the duel's next turn came underway. "Only monsters, so how..."

The answer to that question was left unsaid, and as Honda continued to float on the seas they could do nothing but watch and wait for Seto's reaction to her opponent's words.

* * *

A reaction that was to say the least, not too pleased. Geysers were rising into the water all about the field, and carvings of monsters were appearing on the stone atop the ark. In response to the eruptions by her side the Slate Warrior, the Vampire Lord, and the Giant Germ were all appearing on the tablet. Same with the Stone Giant that Noa had evidently discarded, the warriors she'd killed... All of the monsters were appearing on that stone, and as her opponent stood a 'safe' distance away upon the seas Seto grit her teeth.

"Tch... Hiding from me now?" she asked, the 'woman' merely smirking as she twirled the stolen blade from moments before in her hand.

"Please," she chuckled, narrowing her eyes as the blade vanished into dust upon the water. "As if I would need to hide... I'm merely standing by my ship's side," Noa stated in a voice all too similar to her own, "Making sure that all those in the grave are safely taken aboard for the use of my 'ability'!" And as to what that ability, her mind told her it wouldn't be good. Tch... "This is the beginning of the end," the woman was continuing on, brushing a small lock of hair from her eyes as she smirked. "Watch carefully; the Seven Turns of Creation have already begun!" Th... The seven...

That was right, she told herself. Noa had said this was the 'first turn'. Tch... Mutterings of 'God', of 'Floods' and of 'Creation'... Throwing her secret into the open, humiliating her as much as possible... All this...

All of this..! "Gh... Hnhnhnhn... HNHNHAHA... H _AHAHAHAHA_!" She just couldn't believe this all anymore...

Noa's eyes narrowed from across her opponent, the light haired woman staring in confusion as Seto cackled almost madly from her tiny stone cliff. "You... What's so funny?" she spat, opponent turning a dangerously enraged stare to the woman. "Why are you laughing!" Well!

Hitting a sore point was she? "'Seven Turns'..." Like everything else in that damn book, everything else the 'western world' obsessed with... Seven... Hn... Hnhnha... HAHAHAHAHA! "You claim to defeat me in SEVEN TURNS?" she laughed, already making the summon for her turn as water arose from behind her. "It's nothing but a bluff and a joke," Seto sneered, almost bitterly "A pathetic attempt to shake my resolve... You've succeeded at NOTHING!" she hissed, shaking her head as the 'Spear Dragon' appeared at her side to hover above the seas. "And right now, you've only killed yourself! Victory is on my side... You're open to any attack I make! Spear Dragon!" the woman ordered, flipping back onto the monster's wide head as it tore into the air with a screech, "ATTACK NOA DIRECTLY!"

It would have worked in a perfect world she supposed, if this could even be called a 'world'. As Seto drew close she kicked off from her monster's body, ignoring Noa's shouts of deck-master abilities and perfect defenses while the Spear Dragon grappled with a re-summoned Vampire Lord. Something she'd known would happen thanks to the heads up on Noa's ability, something she had considered and attacked with due to the dragon's own trick. However, as she approached her opponent from above she could see a smirk...

She could hear a chuckle as she prepared to land a punch into her opponent's face, the sound causing her eyes to widen momentarily. "Ahhh," the woman whispered with a sneer, narrowing her eyes. "You've underestimated me..." What...

What was he talking about-

"And thus the second turn begins."

_-FSSSSHHH_

Smoke wrapped around her body as the punch connected with thin air, leaving her with nothing to fall against. Cold water was splashing around her as she fell into the seas yet again, seemingly wrapping around her form and dragging her down into pitch black depths.

The Vampire Lord had been defeated. As a defense mode monster however, most of the damage dealt had been through her dragon's effect, still affecting her opponent's life points despite the rules of play. And just dimly, as she dove forward against her will she could hear a voice...

' _The Second Turn of Creation,_ ' the voice chuckled, her mind just barely recognizing it as her opponent's. ' _The land was cleansed of all sin; and so the flood receded, with the promise to never again cleanse the surface of the world by means of such a thing... Hnhnhnhnhn...'_ Receding...

The waters were receding... Ah-!

As Seto turned over in the water a sinking sensation came over her body, more so than the plunge already left her with. Her feet touched the ground as it became visible to her, and water sank past her face at the same moment with the sound of rushing waves. The 'sun'- the computer- gleamed brightly in the air, almost blinding her as she looked up; the soil began to dry, and all about enormous trees grew from shrubs within mere seconds, with grasses coating the ground beneath her feet as she was quickly encompassed in a wooded jungle. Her Spear Dragon was in defense mode now, circling the air in silence...

And now, it was Noa's turn. To add to that she could see her audience drying themselves off in the distance, their friend having somehow managed to multiply his size by an incredible amount. The dog in question was shaking himself with as much vigor as one would expect from a real one, with the added bonus of shouting and barking at the top of his lungs.

"H _hhhh_! Now there's salt-water all over my fur-aru..! Gh! It smells!"

Those at the sides of the dog quickly flinched away and ducked under the spray, the girls in particular giving out loud squeals of displeasure. "EEE! Honda-han!" Shizuka protested, the dog's fur hanging messily on its form. "Stop shaking it on us!"

"GH- Honda, you're getting us covered in wet-dog smell!" her friend continued, shaking the water from her own robes as her partner hissed.

"Don't make me hold my tongue out! I'll do it! And you won't like it when I do!" Hn! Really...

Seto scoffed at the ridiculous exchange going on, nonetheless looking to the crowd with narrowed eyes a moment longer before looking back to her surroundings. The 'second turn'. "Welcome to the era of Dinosaurs," a voice called out, both Seto and the crowd looking upward as Noa and her ark hovered in the air above them all. "It's an important time... A time where survival was power, a 'dog-eat-dog' world," Noa added with a smirk, Honda growling darkly at the look and jibe both. "In fact," she added darkly, "My summoned Giant Rex is already showing us an example..." Summoned...

Shit! The others turned, eyes wide as the Spear Dragon that had been attempting to signal its master was snapped up by its neck in the jaws of an enormous Tyrannosaurus-Rex seemingly from nowhere. Blood spurted out and to the ground in wide-spread and small drops, and bones could be heard crushing...

Seto looked up with a fairly unimpressed scowl as the monster threw her dragon to the side, the corpse narrowly flying over the peanut gallery's head.

"WUAAH!"

"W-WATCH IT-ARU!"

"Tch..." Bullshit. Absolute bullshit she thought to herself, narrowing her eyes as she looked back to Noa as her dragon's corpse disintegrated into ash. 'She' was laughing now, now that 'she' had an advantage again... Typical really. But she wasn't about to just give in just yet...

Not just yet. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Feeling frustrated?" Noa chuckled, watching as her prey vanished backward into the woods to hide from her Giant Rex. "Confused perhaps? I wouldn't be surprised after all," she laughed, unaware of the spell card activated by her opponent as she spoke. "I represent everything better than you... In skill, personality, intellect... I'm a computer after all," the woman shouted, grinning madly even as three face down panels and Seto's deckmaster ability came into play, "A perfect entity surpassing even human limits!"

'Surpassing' her ass, a computer would have been done by now!

Nonetheless, this apparently surprised everyone else. "A... Comput'r?" Jonouchi was repeating from the side, the blond looking up with narrowed eyes as he shook his head. "Wai', so..."

"Well Noa's dead right?" the snake beside him muttered, Anzu holding the serpent in her hands for the moment as they stared up at the common enemy. "So there had to be something..."

"No..." The audience frowned, staring up at the woman as she sneered and responded to their mutterings. "I'm alive, and I've always been alive... Revived and existing in a manner you can't even begin to comprehend... Of course, it was hard, even unbearable at first," she continued, shaking her head and trailing off for a brief moment. "But I learned to cope... After all; it was only a matter of time before I realized the gift I'd been given," the woman cackled, "Realized the power that I had! I am a 'machine' now," Noa laughed, expression twisted with insanity. "The perfect being, with all the information of the world at the tips of my fingers. Anything I need to know, I have it within mere milli-seconds where others take years! I know EVERYTHING!" the woman cackled, unaware of her opponent's current location. "How the world was formed... How the dawn of mankind began... You can't even hope to become so intelligent as a normal human being! And that _KA_ _SERI_ , is the difference between your mind and mine!" she spat, still looking down from her ship even as the glassy panels of traps shifted through the air. "Such is the identity of a FAILSAFE! As a force meant only to drive me forward!"

"A... Failsafe?" Yugi repeated, only for the others to hold their breaths. "Ah-" Yes...

They'd seen her, hadn't they. "Repeat that," a cold voice said, Noa turning only to be met with a solid kick against her face as the attacker narrowed her eyes. "I couldn't hear you."

"A-AH! YEAH! GO SETO-CHAN!" Jonouchi called out through the air, the peanut gallery already fulfilling their 'cheering' role as the woman above continued to attack their enemy. "GO F'R IT!"

"KICK HIS... HER... UM..." There was a short pause, and then, "KICK NOA'S ASS!" Otogi shouted, the injured woman in question flung back through the air as both Seto and her summoned 'Twilight Zone Dragon' charged downward. Hn!

While she could hardly say the 'chan' was preferred, she agreed quite wholly with that plan! "Hn! Heaven-made intellect, beyond human reach'!" she taunted, a flip-kick sending Noa's body further toward the ground as she fell alongside her summoned monster. "Claiming to be beyond anything this world has seen," she hissed, kicking off the dragon once again. Another blow as Seto landed on the ground, charging her recovering opponent with a punch that sent her flying into the woods before the woman could even stumble to her feet. "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" the woman roared, Noa looking up briefly as her opponent continued her attack. "You're just a pathetic little brat," she hissed, another punch slamming into Noa's cheek as the woman gave a short shout, "A whining little boy who can't accept the facts of life! It's not my business to bother with what happened to you," she continued, grabbing the woman by her jacket to pull her forward as Noa choked. "But enough is enough; you're just hiding behind layers of intellect and so-called omnipotence... When the fact is, you're DEAD!" Seto roared, staring into what could have been her own eyes as Noa grit her teeth and looked back almost in tears. "And you should realize that now! Gozaburo had no intentions of bringing you back to the world like this... He'd have told my brother and I from the very start if that had been the case. Face it," she spat, throwing the woman to the ground with a sneer. "Your so called father didn't trust you after you became a computer... That's the real reason why you're 'still here'."

Something had snapped in Noa's mind at that point she told herself, the woman having collapsed to the ground beneath her hair and robes both. Something important, something dangerous... Whatever the 'thing' was, its restraints had blown. "My father loved me," she whispered, hands clutching at the ground before her as her voice rose into the air at a fever pitch. "He saved my life where medical science and technology failed, he risked everything for me... But he didn't want me to become 'lazy'," she continued, standing shakily on the ground as her opponent tensed and drew back from the clearly crazed woman. "He didn't want me to fall behind... So he offered me a body," she laughed, eyes wide and quivering as the winds themselves seemed to react with her insanity. "He showed me a body, just moments after you were adopted... _'He's almost the same age as you were_ ', he told me, ' _Almost thirteen..._ '" Thirt-

When her lessons had been at their fiercest...

When her vocal lessons had been about to start...

Seto stepped back as Noa approached, still walking slowly as the sounds of the jungle echoed around them. "He created everything for me," Noa hissed, clenching her fists and wiping blood from her mouth as she laughed. "All that I wanted, he would give it to me... But it wasn't real," she screeched, charging with fists as her opponent attempted to duck and return the blows, the first two already striking her face and shoulders with the force of a small car. "The programming was delicate, fragile, and never real! How many children go to MARS for their birthday?" the woman howled, nails slicing as Seto's cheeks as a blow struck her face in an almost clawed strike, "How many people can walk anywhere in the world and have everyone know your name?" Noa roared, opponent forced to do nothing but block the attacks coming her way as 3 out of 4 each broke through the 'barrier'. "Even the DOG was fake!" she spat, another right hook snapping Seto's head backward, "Even something with base instinct that all humans can grasp with ease!" she snarled, opponent grunting as she was kicked in the stomach and left gasping for air. "But I LEARNED... I began to make adjustments," she hissed with a hysteric grin, kneeing the recovering opponent in the face before kicking her to the side. "Fixing things, learning things... Did you know," she asked, wide smile over her face as Seto looked up to breath haggardly, "That if I were to use all of the company's still active weapon satellite systems, I could destroy this world in thirty days?" Th...

Thirty...

Seto found her blood running cold with those words, unable to move for a moment as her opponent slowly walked forward. "You... You would send the world into an apocalyptic ruin... Within..."

Even she knew the chances of survival in that sort of thing... Even she knew that no one would live...

"I told him this you know," Noa 'laughed', shaking her head as she came closer to the standing woman. "I told him that, but after all I'd said and done do you know what he did?"

Ohhhhh please don't, don't tell her that he-

"GLCK!"

Fingernails dug into her throat with a sudden speed that nearly blinded her, her body pinned against the tree with all the force of a hurricane as Noa continued to 'laugh'. She couldn't breathe...

She couldn't move, her throat was bleeding and...

And the crazy son-of-a-bitch was laughing...

"He LEFT ME! HE. LEFT. ME," the woman screeched, grin falling into a snarl as she cried. "For YOU, who had LIED to him all that time! He never spoke to me again, never visited me... And finally, after three years of waiting you KILLED HIM!" she roared, throwing her opponent by the neck and into the jungle with a screech as Seto cried out. "He turned all his attentions to you, all his love to you... And you betrayed him..."

"Gh... Hnngg..." Love? LOVE! This monster... DARED to compare it to... "That bastard... Couldn't have loved even himself," she spat, pulling herself from the ruined forest to glare at her opponent's battered body whilst the terrain continued to 'crumble'. "Not if his own life depended on it! But he at least knew where to draw the line," the woman continued, stumbling to her feet as the sky above darkened and clouded over. "Even Gozaburo can't control the growth of the human mind, can't re-create its path... While he could create a paradise for you, and give you a place to live as you were, the real world was beyond his grasp. There's too much chaos," she growled, gripping the side of a tree for support and trying to catch her breath. "Too much to place in random chance, in a world of light and darkness both. The strength to live can only be learned through the pains and frustrations of the real world," the woman went on with a rasping choke, "And when he realized how you stood against man kind he must have been miserable... Our fight... HN! It was nothing more than to see who was more human," Seto hissed, shaking her head. "The computer, trapped in an endless paradise... Or the human, in constant agony and despair. Perhaps if you'd 'won'," she said with a frown, popping a dislocated shoulder back in place, "He'd have kept this 'promise', and accepted you again...” Seto trailed off, eyes meeting Noa's only briefly.

Funny, how effective the truth could be at shutting someone up she thought, opening her mouth to sneer.

“But in the end you're just a small, lost little boy trapped in a cold and isolated realm, left to become nothing more than an emotionless machine..."

The words wouldn't silence Noa long though.


	20. Sororicide

The words echoed on the air with malice and bitterness after Seto said them. It was impossible for the emotion not to bleed into them after all, given all that Noa had done. But there was an edge, razor sharp and cutting through with the sting of disgusted pity.

Pity for the fool who had fallen for Gozaburo's game.

She was surprised Noa stood there as long as she did really, listening to her words...

She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised though with what she'd been saying, with the expression on her opponent's face hidden behind a curtain of light coloured hair. "You... You don't understand me at all," Noa whispered, shaking her head as she clenched her fists. "Lose all my feelings? No... I surpassed them," she muttered, smirking darkly as a shadow arose behind her to herald the placing of a 'spell'. "I surpassed every mortal boundary to become 'GOD'," she continued, "To become the creator of a new world..."

A 'new' world..? "Hn! To create a 'virtual world' is within the ability of anyone with a half a brain," Seto sneered, standing under her own strength and gripping her still gaping wounds with a wince. "You can't call yourself 'God' with that..."

"So you say," Noa chuckled, narrowing her eyes as she held her hands outward. "Yet I predict that in this very turn," she continued almost calmly, "Something will occur to prove that theory wrong, shaking the very foundation of your existence!" Her-

What?

The chuckling grew into a full on cackle, and as the sky began to flash with cracking lightning the sounds were almost drowned out completely. "IT'S MY TURN!" the woman roared, fires coming into the sky as Seto stepped back with wide eyes. "THE THIRD TURN OF CREATION; IN THE NAME OF THE LORD I WILL RESET THIS WORLD ONCE MORE! DEEPEST IMPACT!" Noa cried, meteors striking the ground and pummelling the summoned Rex into a pulp while the others screamed, "Destroying all monsters on the field!" Destroying-

Meteors continued to fall, and fires were catching the forests while destroying everything in sight. "Gh- Twilight Zone Dragon!" she called out, the dragon swooping by as the enormous boulders smashed into the ground around them. "Activate your effect!" the woman ordered as she flipped onto its back, "The Different Dimension!"

Not a moment too soon and they did just that, her dragon giving out a loud and affirmative growl as its four wings flapped. Through a pocket in the coding the duo flew, the world coating itself in black and grey as the fiery meteors pounded the earth flat. They could see nothing more of the damage done however. Could see nothing of those outside their realm, and nothing of the time that passed since they'd hidden. What they could hear seemed almost drowned in water, echoing beneath the waves of whatever dimension they were taking shelter in...

But she could hear their shouts nonetheless. ' _The sky!_ ' Yugi's friends were screaming, most other cries largely undecipherable. ' _TAKE COVER!_ ' _'This is bad-aru... REALLY BAD,_ ' the particularly recognizable 'robot' howled, the dog's cries filling the air around her. Screaming...

Nothing but screaming...

But for some reason the next voice she heard wasn't that of Noa, in either form.

It was his.

The voice of the 'mutt', the 'blond'... His voice...

' _You see this power?_ ' an unaccented voice was calling out, a chorus of chokes and gasps coming from below her position in response. ' _This meteor shower, that destroyed the earth? The resulting ash and smoke was enough to block out the sun_ ,' 'Jonouchi' chuckled in explanation, ' _Bringing about an age of ice and cold, and allowing the mammals to rise..._ ' The Ice Age..?

Seto's dragon landed on the ground, allowing its master to slide down and back to the real world as the 'different dimension' vanished from sight. In an instant change could be seen around them. Where tall trees stood were now enormous pillars of ice if anything at all, and across the frosted plain mountains could be seen only in the far distance, as slightly faded shadows. The crowd was now standing behind her, grouped tightly beneath the enormous dog that was apparently Honda as the frigid winds blew, chilling their bones even from beneath the canine's thick coat. She herself was already struggling to keep the cold from affecting her, narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth as goosebumps rose on her skin. No monsters...

Noa had no monsters, and her dragon returned only on her turn. But despite that, the Deepest Impact spell had halved their lifepoints, leaving her with only 700 to call her own in contrast to Noa's own 1400. It was as though he wasn't trying to use monsters to attack, or even trying to attack at all...

Just trying to lock her in a futile struggle, and gauge her reaction and rage. This...

"The Third Turn of Creation," 'Jonouchi' announced, Seto widening her eyes as a figure appeared on the snow across from her in the same robes as her previous opponent. "'Ice Age'... 'The Rise of Mammals'..."

"Y ...You..." Seto found herself stepping back despite her will and drive to fight, face already red and irritated in the blistering cold. "That's..."

"What th' hell," Jonouchi muttered from behind her, gripping his staff as he swallowed. "What did y'..."

"That's... That's NIHAN'S body!" the blond's sister screamed in horror, Seto merely staring as Noa laughed from across them. "You..!"

"What's your problem-aru! First Kaiba and now this?" Honda snarled, clawing at the ground as the snakes around his neck hissed just as angrily. "What's wrong with your own body-aru!"

Noa merely continued to laugh, snow whirling around his form in a 'private blizzard' as he grinned. "Well... It's survival of the fittest," he explained, holding hand out as he rose on a slowly growing mound of ice and snow. "Weeding out the weak and letting only the strongest survive! You think this is 'jarring'?" he sneered, still grinning as the snow beneath him took form and seemingly began to move, "Think again! That moment has yet to come... All this is, is a reminder... I don't want _your_ body," the teen laughed, Seto grinding her teeth from below as the mound continued to rise and tower above her. "Your mask is essentially a permanent fixture, making you weak... I'll just take this one instead," he continued with a grin, gesturing to his robed form as he chuckled. "And alter the proper neurons to make you my puppet..!" Alter her...

Oh HELL... "A PUPPET?" she snarled, eyes wide with rage as the mammoth Noa appeared on began to charge, the snow solidifying into brown fur and ivory tusks. "Like HELL! Twilight Zone Dragon!" she ordered, the monster swooping to the side as she grabbed its tail to avoid the strike. "Take us up; I activate two of my traps," she shouted, throwing a hand forward as the mammoth continued to chase them, ignoring the fact that he quite obviously wouldn't be able to follow. "Ring of Destruction," the woman began, the first of her three glass panels shattering to form a ring of grenades around the mammoth's neck, "And Ring of Defense!"

_'But why_ ,' she could hear them shouting, resulting explosion cutting through the air as Seto landed safely to the side with her dragon, the mammoth across her left as nothing but a pair of hind legs that burned themselves to ash. ' _Why bother when the Mammoth has less power?_ '

' _Because_ ,' Yugi explained with a swallow, the Twilight Zone dragon curling around Seto in the meantime. ' _When the Mammoth is destroyed, it inflicts damage to both player's life points...'_ A fact she'd narrowly been able to take advantage of too...

Though with both of those rings gone, it could be troublesome. The smoke cleared as Noa wheezed from across her, standing limply on the ground before them and still clinging to Jonouchi's form.

"HaHAAA! INCREDIBLE!" those behind her were shouting, cheers rising in volume. "That's great!"

"One more hit an' y' win Seto-chan! KICK THIS CREEP'S ASS!"

"But Noa's still got that ark shield thi-"

"Not now Ren," Anzu hissed, the duelist before the crowd rolling her eyes. Hn! ...Fools...

Not to say she wouldn't win of course, but nonetheless. "Noa... Your spells and attacks amounted to nothing," Seto sneered, her opponent merely staring forward from a pathetic copy of her 'mutt's eyes. "It's OVER, NOA; I'm finishing this now!" she spat, charging forward with a shout. "Twilight Zone Dragon enters attack mode," she announced, coming closer and closer to her injured opponent as she picked up her pace, "And I discard the Thunder Dragon from my hand! HAH!"

"GH!" A kick sent Noa flying back with those words, and Seto continued her charge as the teen was thrown violently across the frosted plain. "Nggh..!"

"I then play the spell Polymerization!" she roared, spiralling smoke appearing over her fore arms as she spun forward for added momentum, "Fusing the two thunder dragons I pulled from my deck into the Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon... Weapon mode!" the woman continued, another kick slamming into Noa's face as the sparks flew from her arms. "Along with the spell Quick Attack!" she roared, punching the teen with a well placed uppercut to send him back yet again.

"HNG... Activate the effect of the ark!" Noa announced, pulling himself to his feet to kick back from the additional kick his opponent had attempted to make in the meantime. "Summoning Giant Rex and Stone Golem to my defense, the latter as armor! Your attack changes nothing!" he roared, stone lining the sides of his aged looking robes, "Nothing!" Hn!

"So you think! I activate my final card," his opponent countered, leaping high into the air to bring a flipped kick down on the Giant Rex's skull while she spoke, "Dragon's Rage..! Allow me to show you just how wide the gap between you and I is," she spat, pushing off the dinosaur's corpse to again attack her opponent. "You're DEAD!"

"G _HO-_ " Yet another fist to the face and Noa was stumbling back with a bloodied nose, with cheers and shouts erupting from the sides as he struggled to stand. "G _NA-_ " A roundhouse kick and he was sent flying back, skidding against the tundra and leaving a slightly bloodied trail behind him. And as Seto charged she could see only one thing, one thing in her mind. She was going to win she told herself, bringing her fist forward with the intent of connecting against Noa's disguised face while the teen again stood. She was going to win-

And suddenly, Noa wasn't borrowing Jonouchi's face any more, shifting into his original, 'adult' form with a leering grin. And over the air she heard her brother, and saw a white blur enter her vision...

"HHH _HAAAH_!"

"GH-" A sickening crack hit the air as her punch was caught in a block, wrist snapping as the woman gave a cry. Shouts from the side had quieted with a resounding hush, and as her wrist was pulled forward and further into the defender's grasp her eyes widened in shock. Impossible...

Impossib-

"Moku- GH-!"

Another blow had been landed and her fist was dropped, her brother's knee catching her gut as she stumbled back. Impossible, why was he doing this...

"G.. GHA!" Another strike to her stomach, this time his fist, and as she clutched the again bleeding wound that was located near the developing bruise she looked up with wide and disbelieving eyes that far betrayed her usual expressions. "M-Mokuba, wh-"

"I won't forgive you, for touching my brother," the boy spat, before throwing a fist into the face that had finally been lowered to his level. "TAKE THIS!" he snarled, another crack meeting the air as blood rushed from her nose, "HHHA _AAAAAHH_!"

"GHNH!"

It was probably obvious that Mokuba's power had been increased. That his power was only enough to send her flying across the frosted plain for that reason, that ordinarily he would never have come close to exacting this kind of force. But as she pulled herself to her feet, blood gushing from a now broken nose she still had to stare for a completely different reason, all injuries momentarily forgotten as she looked across to her brother.

"Gh... Mokuba..." What had once been cheers were now the curses of a bitter and angry crowd, the shouts of a group who could do nothing else but watch in horror as a friend and sibling turned on them completely. Had she bothered to listen she'd have realized that Jonouchi's cries were missing from the crowd... That below, on the sides of the icy plateau he'd disappeared, vanished into the blizzard around them. But for now she was too busy looking to her brother, the boy now holding a cautiously offensive stance across the field.

"Is this the one?" he was asking with enraged eyes, those at the sides erupting in roars of anger as Mokuba addressed their enemy. "Is this the one trying to hurt us?" Hurt...

No... No that wasn't-

"That's right," Noa said with a menacing and cunning smirk, his opponent's eyes wide with disbelief and horror both. "This is the one I told you about... Our enemy," he continued cunningly, "The one who'll ruin everything!"

"Enemy?" she found herself repeating incredulously, stumbling to her feet as the cold chilled her skin and froze the blood on her face and body. "You... BASTARD..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Bad luck," the man across from her was saying with a chuckle, "Horrible! Mokuba is my brother though," the man said with a sigh, "And well... Brothers protect each other," he muttered with a smirk, opponent clenching her fists as laboured breaths fogged into the air. "Of course, you were in the middle of an attack weren't you? We're both waiting you know," he continued with a laugh, narrowing his eyes. "So go on! I did tell you after all," Noa muttered darkly, "That the 'third turn' would shock your very existence..." Nggg...

Those words... He'd planned this from the very start the little rat! He'd planned-

"GHA _AAAAHG_!" Seto had little time to ponder what was or wasn't being plotted against her as her brother's 'class' kicked in, the boy seemingly vanishing from the air only to reappear and send a high-kick into her stomach. Air...

She was in the air, launched upward by nothing but a kick, and she...

"Hn!" She was being followed.

"GH-" The back of her neck was the first to be struck down, made by Mokuba's elbow before she could even see him move past her in the air.

"HAH!" Another blow.

"Hng-!" Her stomach, his knee, sending her to the side in mid air as her body was tossed about like some abused rag-doll. "B-BARRIER!" she finally shouted, delicate bruises and bleeding organs given the shield they needed as she pulled up the first and only 'White Magic' spell she'd bothered with. A shield...

This shield would hold, it had to...

And still her brother attacked.

She could hear Noa speaking through all of this... ' _Not attacking I take?_ ' he was laughing, a final flip-kick sending the woman into the ground with enough force to form a crater amid dust and snow. ' _Pity that... Of course, you'd have to strike Mokuba down in that case,_ ' the man continued through ringing ears, shaking arms pulling herself upward as she choked and attempted to see through a haze of frost. Moku...

Mokuba... "Hnng... Hhaahhh... Ahhhh..." Pain... Her body was wracked with pain...

Mokuba stood above her, at the edge of the crater...

With a look in his eyes that spoke of complete and utter rage. "I... Pass," she rasped, coughing as her brother stared. "Gh... Hgh..." Pain... The blows her brother dealt, they hurt...

But more than that... More than that, it...

"My turn then," Noa was chuckling, opponent barely able to breathe as she closed her eyes and struggled to breathe. "How weak the human mind though... Fragile and pathetic... Mokuba," he shouted, sounding almost as though he were underwater, "Step back a moment; it's too dangerous right now..." Dangerous...

Hah... Haha... She was still 'dangerous'? Even like this? "Gh... Noaaaaaa," she hissed, forcing herself to her front as she rolled over and attempted to climb her way out. "You monster... I... I..."

As bloodied knuckles pulled their way up her bandages were vanishing... Noa was speaking again... "Hnhnhnhnhn... I'm activating my third deckmaster ability," he was saying softly, shaking hands scratching and slicing themselves across the already freezing ground. Gh...

"Third?" she asked in a rasping tone, managing to bring her gaze up toward the ark as she swallowed. From the ark's tablet a number of symbols could be seen, each representing a monster that had been sent to the grave. Each glowing with an ethereal light as Mokuba stood at Noa's side, each light flowing from the tablet in a slow and cord-like stream towards their master. The wounds she'd inflicted upon him were healing... Clothing repairing, blood cleansed from his form as she stared... And as the glow continued Noa seemed to shine completely with power, a smirk growing on his face as he sneered.

"'Absorption'," the man announced, holding his hands out with a grin. "By removing each monster in the ark from play, I gain five hundred life points. And with twelve monsters," he continued, grin growing almost crazed in appearance, "You can't even hope to defeat me..." Twelve times five hundred...

That meant he had... S...Sixty...

Sixty four hundred points... He had...

' _That BASTARD_ ,' those at the side were snarling, Seto merely staring with incredulity as she forced herself out of the crater to spit a mouthful of blood to the ground. _'He was just tormenting her the entire time..! He could have done that whenever he wanted...'_ Whenever he wanted... He could have done it from the very start, but he'd waited... ' _Kaiba-san_ _, you need to turn this around, quick,_ ' they were shouting, Yugi's voice in particular coming above the others. ' _Kaiba-san..!_ ' Bastard...

Bastard... "GH... HNG..." She forced herself to stand, blood dripping from her face and chest both as she ground her teeth.

Bastard! "I'm not done yet... I activate the spell 'Dark Hole'!" Noa said from far in the distance, opponent clenching her fists as she shook on the ground. "Destroying all monsters on the field... And sending them back to my ark." This...

This... Her bandages had disappeared because of that spell. Eyes snapped upward in rage as a portal of sorts appeared before her, energy seeming to rise from the ground itself as the ice began to melt with it. "Tch... Twilight Zone Dragon enters defense mode," she announced, kicking back from the ground as her dragon appeared behind her, immune to the black hole's effects despite all the power it held. "Noa... Of all the most unforgivable things to do..."

She'd made a promise she told herself, watching as her opponent grew further and further away, dragon putting as much distance between herself and the man. A promise...

_'I'll look after you_ ', she'd told him. ' _I'll do everything our Dad did; I'll become your brother, alright?_ '

But she didn't, in the end. Look after him, she meant. She'd failed her brother...

Hurt him, almost killed him in fact. Yet through even that he'd waited, standing beside that mutt and waiting... Both of them just sitting at her bedside...

"You saved me," she found herself muttering, looking down toward the field as the sounds of a jet began to rise through the air. "Now... It's my turn to save you..."

' _Keep fighting!_ ' they were shouting below, keep fighting, no matter what... There had to be something to break through, something. Some sort of trigger, as with Jonouchi's duel...

That was true. There was one thing she told herself, gaze growing soft as she watched her brother rise up in the cockpit of a fighter-jet. Only one. She didn't have it in her hands yet... But there was one way.

And if she had any hope of getting her brother out of this place, that move was going to be it.

* * *

Watching Seto get beaten to the ground was already a difficult thing to do let along stomach. The woman was deadly with a weapon, and just as deadly with her hands and feet alone after all- she was taller than anyone else he personally knew, and the fact that it was by more than say 'two centimetres' was more than frightening at times, and probably _because_ she was a woman. He had to face it; as much as he didn't want to admit it, the woman could probably beat the crap out of himself and Honda at the same time if she wanted, without breaking a sweat.

But Noa was treating this as a game. As a sick twisted game, but a game nonetheless. There were moments where he seemed to falter of course, moments where it seemed Seto had the upper hand but even he could tell when someone was letting themselves be hit, letting themselves take a blow to give a false image of weakness. Whether or not Seto did was to be questioned. He knew she was capable, hell, how could she not be given all she did?

But she was also pissed as hell. Filled with rage over the imprisonment of her mind, over the chaos back outside on her airship, the kidnapping of her brother, the revelation of her most private secret, all within one short series of hours...

All piled on and on and on with no stopping, no rest, no restraints...

And with each blow to Noa's body, in whatever form, he just knew she wasn't paying attention to the fact that as the computer he should have dodged each strike, that he should have easily returned the fire before the punches were placed.

Which was why as their own section of frosted ice was separated from the battle field, he made his move and ran toward the plateau that the duelists fought upon.

"Ah- Nihan!" he heard behind him as he ran, the blond gripping his staff tightly as he skidded and hopped along ice-covered ground. "Nihan!" Shizuka called out, "Where are you going?"

"Ah- Jonouchi-aru!"

"Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi called out, the others calling for him as well. "Kaiba-san won't even let us interfere, and if Noa considers it cheating-"

"Then he'd 'f cut 's out already," the blond spat, running off despite the protests as he looked back. "Jus' don' come after me!"

"J-Jono-"

"Jus' don'!" he snarled, turning back and vanishing into the storm.

Snow was blowing all about the field, sticking to their skin... Most of them were in fairly open costumes, shivering violently. As the blizzard grew however he lost sight of the others, staff tightly gripped in place as he climbed up the ice wall. Dimly he could hear shouts...

His bare feet were shaving themselves against the ice as he ran full tilt, bleeding across the ground even while he began his climb up the plateau. _'BASTARD_ ,' he could hear Otogi roar, sliced fingers slowly gripping the top of the 'cliff' above him. ' _WHAT KIND OF SICK FREAK ARE YOU!_ ' he snarled. ' _Mokuba... MOKUBA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!_ ' Anzu was shouting, voice panicked as it was joined by the others' own rage and horror filled screams. ' _WHAT ARE YOU..._ '

As to what they were shouting about, he realized quite soon. He couldn't climb up the plateau properly after all. He'd had to 'spiral', move side to side until he was at the opposite end of the field to find a proper way up, something that wasted time, heat, and blood both looking back at the red footprints he'd left behind. But looking forward he found himself feeling sick, almost losing his grip on the ice he'd so struggled to climb up. Seto was strong, that was for sure. Probably the strongest woman he knew.

But she was powerless against her own brother, and Noa knew that.

"TAKE THIS!" Mokuba was snarling, eyes narrowed in a rage far unlike him as he pounded against the woman's form. "AND THIS! ...AND THIS! " Blow after blow after blow...

She was either too shocked to move or simply unable to even comprehend what was happening, not even getting the chance to defend herself, not even getting the chance to target the boy's controller.

And finally she got the small window of time for a shield. "B-BARRIER!" A sphere of glass seemed to appear around her just in time with the words, but even this didn't save her from the final blow.

Mokuba's kick sent her directly into the ground, the barrier itself forming a crater as it crackled out and flicked in and out of existence above a scarcely conscious woman. Noa was taunting her. Laughing, crossing his arms with a menacing sneer in the 'Jiang-Shi' ropes that so clashed against his constant speeches of 'God'. It was his turn now...

And even as Seto pulled herself out, the woman appearing as a mere silhouette through the raging snow storm, he kept laughing... The blizzard vanished with the release of the dark hole, the 'sun' replaced with its incredible pull. All the snow on the field was sapped toward it, and in that same moment Seto re-summoned her dragon and fled to the skies. Be it to escape the storm and hide...

Or to plan...

Or simply to tend to wounds and attack from above.

Either way Mokuba himself followed shortly after as the jet monster 'Gradius' appeared around his form, while his controller continued to alter the realm around them to his personal desires.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... We now reach the Fourth Turn of Creation," Noa announced, hands held high as he laughed. "As evolution takes its course! The land thaws, and man rises as the world's dominant species... Welcome to the modern world!" he called out cheerfully, Katsuya merely grinding his teeth as he tiptoed forward on now grass covered land. Heh...

'Welcome'..? "Welcome t' my FIST!" he snarled as he punched forward, only to find his hand passing through smoke and light both as the teen shifted back. "Gh... I knew y' were fakin' it out there!" he hissed, sky scrapers and buildings numbly familiar to him rising around him as he looked around.

Vanished...

He'd vanished... "Ohhh... Really now, that's just a little presumptuous," Noa sneered, reappearing to the side of the blond as his second opponent turned to snarl. "All I'm doing is using my skills to my advantage after all," he chuckled, Katsuya aiming a roundhouse at what again became mere smoke as it faded away. Damn it...

How the hell was he supposed to hit this guy! "Gh... Yer 'advant'ge' is you screwing with your heads y' freak! Y' know I was feelin' pretty sorry for yah b'fore," he continued, the hairs on the back of his neck rising with each moment he spent looking for the man, "But now..." He continued to look around with narrowed eyes, a paranoid feeling rising in him as he attempted to locate his 'opponent'. Where... Where...

...That way!

"...Heh! Le's jus' say yer one disgustin' piece 'f work!" he hissed, before throwing a fist at what appeared to be thin air as Noa appeared. "An' that I sure as hell ain't surprised yer 'dad' abandoned y'! H _HAH_!!"

"TCH-" The man jumped back as the fist narrowly avoided his chest, looking to Katsuya in both shock and mild horror for a moment before narrowing his eyes as his sore point was again ripped at. "You... My father loved me!" he snarled, appearing to flame and smoke before the blond as the distance between the two increased. "He gave me everything, trusted me with everything! And I intend to more than surpass his wishes," he continued, knuckles cracking as be brought a hand forward.

"Oh yeah? Well we'll jus' see abou' tha'!" he snarled, charging the man with an apparent kick only to punch to his right as smoke met with the feint.

"H _GA-_ " Hehehehehe...

"Looks like you ain't as 'all knowin' as y' think," the blond growled, a crack meeting the air as his opponent stumbled back from the force of the blow.

"GH- Gnn... Hah... That..." Noa's jaw cracked once again as he adjusted it, looking to the teen in apparent interest. "It looks as though you're not as 'normal' as you like to think either," he chuckled, narrowing his eyes as the blond paled and stepped back. "Tell me Katsuya," he continued with a wide eyed grin, his opponent swallowing in unease beneath the man's gaze. "How did you know where I would appear?" Appear? That was easy he told himself, easy, he'd...Seen it...

Before he... "You... You're fuckin' KIDDIN' ME!" he roared, stumbling back with horror as a grin slowly came over Noa's face. "How th' hell..."

The man merely sneered, the clouds behind him appearing to converge and spiral as an image appeared over his vision. "Well," Noa was saying, the shouts of a vicious and one-sided battle between a cannon armed jet and a dragon coming over it, "I'm connected to you aren't I? So how could I not know about this..?" How could he not screw with him using it more like! "And besides that, I didn't tell you anything directly... More... Dangled it, just to see how high the dog could jump," he chuckled, Katsuya shaking his head in disbelief.

"You... Y' sabotaged our duel," he muttered with a swallow, thinking back to the cards and moves he'd seen ahead of time in his last match, to the moves he'd known his friend would make. "You screwed with my head and..."

A blood curdling screech hit the air at that moment, animal and instinctual in form as a ray of light pierced the sky, breaking the clouds and forcing them back in a shockwave. He could see her. See her red, burnt form falling from the ground, see the dragon destroyed in the blast and the canon Mokuba wielded from within the ship sending a blaze of fire into the air toward her to burn the woman further, send her even quicker to her death. That however had yet to happen he realized coldly, the sky clearing as sounds of battle continued from above as his vision 'cleared'. It was only then that it really began, that the first strike was planned.

That the clouds truly converged, and the ship Mokuba piloted now began to charge its ray directly above his target. That this vision...

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Better hurry," Noa chuckled, smoking from existence as Katsuya clenched his fists and turned on him, "We're only one turn away from the end now..."

"Gh... Damn it Noa... YOU-"

"GHHRAAAA _AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH_!" The scream..!

Katsuya's gaze snapped to the side, the clouds parting just as he'd seen before. Seto's dragon was coated in flames, barely pulling itself to its hidden dimension to recover. Seto herself was falling however, almost in slow motion as he ran forward and watched another blast charge seemingly from nowhere. She couldn't scream any more, her injuries revealed as much. Revealed that she should have long since died, with smoke rose from her form and burns covering her body almost completely.

"Seto-chan!" he shouted, staff clattering to the ground as the others ran over with wide eyes, having clambered up the thawed lands themselves. "SETO-CHAN!" He reached out, hands wide spread as he jumped...

And as the sixth turn came to an end, he opened his eyes and cushioned her fall, catching her in his arms. Held her close despite whatever she thought, the others thought, anyone...

There was a second Gradius jet he realized coldly, the second blast making its way downward as he lay the woman on the ground, the blast connecting with him and forcing a jolt through his body as he choked. Its fires and energy had seared his back, effectively grafting his very clothes to his skin, and as he slowly stood up from Seto's largely motionless form he found himself fighting off a scream in pain, barely holding the attack from his friend.

"Gh... Nh..." He was still on fire right? Still alive right? But how? How, he wasn't dueling, so how? "Agh... Nh... g..!"

"Look, Mokuba," he heard Noa chuckle, the blond slowly turning in place to look at the man with undying rage. "Look at the pain our enemies are in..."

"NOA..." Kill him... He was going to kill him, kill him, kill\- 

"Gh... Kah! Kgh!" Coughing came from behind the blond, and with wide eyes Katsuya turned to watch as Seto weakly grabbed the side of the ground to pull herself up, ignoring charred skin and the pain it caused to look dully at the surroundings and those around her. "Gh... What..."

"S-Seto-chan," Katsuya shouted, looking back with wide eyes. "You-"

More chuckling came from before them, both looking forward as the crowd of onlookers held their distance and curbed their charge. "It hurts, doesn't it, 'Kaseri'?" Noa asked, arms crossed and hidden beneath oversized sleeves. "To be so viciously attacked by someone you love, someone you would do anything for," he sneered, Katsuya and Seto both narrowing their eyes as the latter attempted to move.

"No... A... GH!" Katsuya turned once again as Seto collapsed to her knees, running back to the woman's side and attempting to help the her to her feet.

"Ah- Seto-chan," he said with a swallow, ignoring the slight burn and 'stick' from the blood and ash covering her, "You-"

"SHUT UP ," she hissed, pushing the blond back as she stepped forward on wobbling legs. "Hah... Stupid... Mutt," she forced out, looking to Katsuya with narrowed eyes as she coughed. "Don't call me that... Gh... Hah... Hgn..!" The woman winced, clutching the freshly burnt wounds received as she moved past her 'friend' to leer at her current opponent. "This... I don't need you to tell me what to do," she muttered, Katsuya staring with wide eyes.

Didn't... He... But she was-

"GH- I ain't tellin' y' t' do anything," he protested, the woman still walking onward despite this.

"Then shut up," Seto wheezed, blood dripping behind her and to the ground as the others stared. But...

She... "Yer gonna die if y' keep goin'!" the blond roared, Seto seeming to pause momentarily.

"If I have to," she seemed to whisper, looking back somewhat as Katsuya paled. If... If she had...

"If y'- WHAT!"

"Trust me, Mutt," the woman growled, taking another shaking step forward as she bit back her pain, "It takes more than thi- Gh... ...More than this to take me down..."

S-Seto... "But... You..." He didn't want her to d-

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Noa chuckled, the two hurriedly turning their attentions forward with grit teeth. "Though I suppose it's better than simple 'yelling'... After all," Noa laughed darkly, "Then you'd simply be proving how close to crashing you were! Hnhnhahaha!" The laughter continued to hover bitterly in the air, the crowd behind them staring with wide, enraged eyes and grit teeth. "Of course, this is going on for so long," Noa muttered almost sadly, Mokuba appearing to stare at the two before him with narrowed eyes from the man's side. "It's almost boring..." Boring..?

Katsuya's face slowly paled in disbelief, the blond stepping forward with wide eyes. "You... Are you serious?" he snarled lowly, an expression far unlike any he'd ever held in front of those he knew coming over his face. "Are you... MOKUBA!" the blond roared, the boy seeming to narrow his eyes further at the shouts that were filling the field. "Don' you care at all! That yer treatin' Seto-chan like this? Tha' yer doin' all this! We came here together!" he shouted, the woman beside him merely watching her brother's reaction as Mokuba frowned. "We... We came..."

Damn it Mokuba..! "Remember last summer!" Shizuka asked with an abrupt shout, appearing behind the two as Seto narrowed her eyes and stared. "When you came to Osaka, you told me all about how much you loved Kaiba-han! How much you wanted hi... How much you wanted her to wake up at that time!" she cried out with a swallow, "So that you could show her everything! So that you could take her with next time!"

"And the Monster World!" Honda added, his tic momentarily vanishing as his still gigantic and canine form loomed overhead with the others in tow. "Do you remember fighting with us against the other Bakura, against Zork?" he shouted and howled, the snakes around his neck hissing in 'agreement'. "Do you remember how that NPC, 'KAI' came to fight with us!"

"And what about the tanabata festival, on your birthday!" continued Otogi, the dancer moving to stand closer to the crowd as the boy across from them slowly drew back and held his head. "We had bean cake, remember, and you made a wish with us to hang on the bamboo!"

"And your graduation!" Anzu cried out with the others, "What about that?"

"What about meeting Rebecca, and playing Capmon!" Yugi shouted.

"Ragging Jonouchi out for getting himself into something stupid again?" Ren offered with another shout.

"Running from those girls on Valentines and White Day!" Honda shouted out again, ears pricked back somewhat, "And what about-"

"...Hanami," Seto muttered, the others falling silent as the single phrase came through the air.

That day in the sakura fields, the day that she'd have missed if not for his own and Mokuba's influence...

"...I can't offer much to remember positively," the woman whispered, stepping forward at a limp as the deck-master markings on her body began to glow and shine brightly from her otherwise destroyed body. "And I can't say that I know most of what your friends are talking about," she continued almost quietly, "No matter how much I want to..." Mokuba merely stared as the woman came closer, his 'brother' putting a possessive hand over his shoulder to pull him back as the boy bit his lip. They were breaking through, little by little... Ever so slowly... "...This... I can't fight you," Seto whispered, soft eyes looking out to the boy as he continued to frown with confusion. "I can only fight with you at my side, and everything else is just futile attempts at the impossible..."

"...Niichan," Mokuba whispered, looking up to Noa somewhat. "...Noa..."

"...Don't listen to her," Noa was muttering, grip tightening on the boy's form. "Don't listen to her, she's lying, she's-"

"I can't change the past," the woman continued on, regardless of who was listening. "The house we lived in was hell... And for those years you suffered for it all. But no matter what... Up until this point you've stood by my side," she rasped, throat still charred and ashen from the previous attacks. "Waiting for my eyes to open... Waiting, and never losing faith. So let me at least clear a path to the future for you," the woman whispered, light seeming to glow over her wounds as wind blew about the field. "Let me show you the card that you gave me those years ago, that card that saved me back then... The card I promised to show you again," she continued softly, "No matter what it took..." That card...

That was why... "...Nee... Sama?" Mokuba whispered, bringing his hands from his head. "You're..."

The words were quiet. Mere whispers on the wind, something he wasn't even sure he'd heard by means of his ability or with his ears. Perhaps Seto as well hadn't heard them. Perhaps she wanted to be sure that he had but nonetheless she continued on, even as Noa turned a wide and disbelieving eye toward the boy at his side in response to the muttered words.

"Mokuba," she began, swallowing as cloth repaired on her skin with the rest of her form, "If I don't get this card... Then that proves I couldn't keep this promise," Seto whispered, light continuing to emanate from the field beneath her feet. "It proves I can't be your sister, let alone the 'brother' I promised to be... So I ask you... Am I worthy of that card?"

Tears were running down Mokuba's cheeks, and yet the boy appeared to be unaware as to why. He was shivering, shaking, memories appearing with no sign as to their origin or how they came into being. Across from him, Seto was staring across the field, the winds still blowing with Katsuya standing off to the side as light continued to rise from the ground. That 'worth' she was questioning... She more than had it he told himself, the drawn card already appearing within both his own and Seto's minds.

"I activate my deckmaster ability," the woman uttered lowly, standing almost limp as the light about her began to materialize as an almost water-like torrent at her feet. "Lowering the number of tributes needed for a light-type monster by one... And I tribute the Twilight Zone Dragon!" she shouted, the wind and light forcing those around her to slowly be blown back as the dragon soared toward her from behind, "And I summon this! The most powerful of all monsters!" she roared, the shout mirrored as an enormous white beast rose from her shadow and the light both to swirl around her and destroy the form of the green one behind her, "THE BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!"

"H-Ahhh... That..."

"Gh... No," Noa hissed, watching as his grip slipped from the boy at his side. "Mokuba!" he shouted, looking to him almost desperately, "Mokuba-"

The light on the field was blinding, and almost as inhibiting as the roar of the dragon whose head was now sitting above Seto's own. The dragon's eyes were piercing blue, staring forward, watching as Mokuba stepped away from Noa with wide eyes.

"YOU..." He shook his head with fear, horror, realization... An entire multitude of emotions passed over his face, and as he looked back to the dragon the gaze widened. "I... Nee-sama!” Mokuba cried, stepping forward as he looked to the monster and his sister both. A few stumbling steps... An incredulous look from Noa, the man silent with momentary shock and rage... "S-SETO-NEESAMA!" he wailed, still white clothes billowing in the wind behind him. The boy ran forward, wrapping his arms around the woman's waist even as she winced in pain, the injuries sustained in battle still not completely healed over. "Nee-sama... Neesama I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..!"

"It's fine," she answered quietly, holding the boy close as the others stared in silence. "It wasn't you- I know that. This wasn't your fault... Now," she continued, gesturing behind her as she began to pull herself onto the dragon's back. "Stay back with the others... I'm going to finish this now," the woman growled, Mokuba nodding as he ran back to stand with the group.

"R-Right..."

“Ah- Mokuba-kun!" Yugi shouted with a relieved laugh, the boy running over with a nervous swallow as the others made room. "You- You made it back..!"

"Mokuba!" Katsuya continued, the two sharing their own brief hug before the blond looked over the boy in worry. "Oi, Mokuba, you alrigh'... You gonna be alrigh', wi' what Noa did?"

The response was a shaky nod, Mokuba again swallowing in unease. "I'm... I'm fine. I'll be fine," he answered yet again, looking back to the field. "But nee-sama..."

"...NOA!" Seto barked, strength somehow restored as she leered at the jets and the man currently standing before her. "Even CONSIDER touching my family and remember that THIS will be your fate! Blue-Eyes!" she ordered, the monster opening its great maw as white flames grew in her throat, "ATTACK GRADIUS!"

With a howl of flames the blast was released, Blue-Eyes' great roar heard clearly over the field. The machine it struck exploded into shrapnel and flames in the instant the sparks connected and as the steel rained on Noa, the man glaring through the haze and smoke, the second 'Gradius' exploded along with it, caught in the crossfire of card effects and flames.

"Hah... It worked!" Otogi was cheering, clapping a fist in his hand as he grinned. "We made it through!"

"Not only that but 'Gradius Option' is gone too-aru! We're going to make it!" Honda barked, Mokuba nodding and swallowing as he watched. They were almost there... They were almost...

Katsuya frowned abruptly, eyes briefly meeting with their opponent's as he growled. "Oh tha' son-ofa-bitch," the blond at the side hissed, the others turning in confusion as Noa's chuckling came across the field. "He's usin' th' effect..."

"Effect?" Yugi repeated, the others bearing similar expressions. "Wait..!"

"Hnhnhnhnhnhn..." Katsuya fell silent as laughter filled the air, the others growing visibly pale as the man across from them cackled. "Hnhnhaha... HnhnHA _HAHAHAHA_! Oh Kaseri," Noa chuckled, shaking his head as the woman tensed from across him. "You never cease to amuse me... The fact that you've managed to scratch me again is amazing," he continued with a smug laugh, "But the fact remains that I am INVINCIBLE... After all... If you recall," he sneered, snapping his fingers, "I have five monsters in the Ark right now... And no 'set card' can stop this," the man continued on, the sheet of glass before his opponent glimmering suspiciously from the previous turn in the meantime. "My life points rise by another 2500 lifepoints," Noa announced, any and all injuries sustained again healing as the pulsing light continued to emanate off his robes, "Bringing my total to 7400! AND NOW THAT IT'S THE SEVENTH TURN," he roared, thunder seeming to crack around them, "ALLOW ME TO REVEAL-"

"Activate Trap," Seto called out, glass shattering as the sky began to darken even further with apparent rage. "I'm taking your 'heaven and earth' and I'm dragging them to hell," she hissed, Blue-Eyes giving an angered snarl from beneath her. "I'm bringing out 'LAST TURN'!" she announced, the man across from her staring with narrowed eyes. The glass that shattered into the air spread to the side to surround them both, creating a fence of mirrors around them. "You've kept me waiting long enough," the woman snarled, her dragon's wings beating at the ground as they rose high into the air. "You've held me back far too long! THIS is the deciding moment!" Seto roared, stones crumbling and rising into the air as a scene almost similar to Shizuka's own ritual summon came into being. "The 'REAL' seventh turn," she continued in rage, "The APOCALYPSE! We're going to face each other with one monster each," the woman shouted, Noa merely seeming to smoke somewhat as those below watched in horror at the disintegrating terrain within the field's limits, "And the last one standing wins this match!"

One on one... No lifepoints, no spells and traps...

"A las' gamble," Katsuya muttered, Yugi nodding fearfully from the side. "One on one... If Kaiba-san loses," he whispered, Mokuba shivering from between the two at the words. "She..."

She couldn't lose... No matter what, she could not lose!

The crowd fell silent at the words nonetheless, lightning striking the ground as Noa as well rose to the air. "Hn! Well then... If it's a battle you want, I choose the Ark of Shinato," he announced, smoking back into existence atop the bow of the ship as it rose further into the air.

"And I fight with Blue-Eyes," Seto called out in response, the dragon giving a fearsome roar from its position above their opponent's ship. "NOW... Witness the force of the combined anger from myself and Mokuba both!" she cried, the sounds almost drowned out by her dragon's snarls as white flames licked the air, "BURST STREAM!"

White light filled the air in that moment, and for just a brief moment in time he could see nothing. Not the flames that devoured the ship to reduce it to ashes in the air, nor the rage that Seto continued to attack in, her dragon snarling and clawing at some unseen force. He couldn't see Ren hissing in some sort of fit to the side, nor a hope filled stare from the others. He couldn't hear what they were saying either. He could only hear Noa's scream, agonized and pained...

Until at the very end, the light cleared and they were met with the enormous figure of some strange angel. Noa's clothing had changed; he wore the robes of a celestial being and radiated with the power of one, with six wings spread wide behind his hovering and almost deadly pale form as they stared, hopefilled gaze shifting to that of horror. It was only now that they realized the scream had changed... That it had shifted, contorted, and faded into a laugh, a mad cackle. Only as they looked at Noa's smirking face, and the gathered energy in his puppet-like hands that they realized how wrong they'd been.

"W..." How wrong Seto had been, the woman now staring at the being above her almost in fear. "You..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I lied," he whispered, fingers cracking as he spread his hands forward in an attack. "Divine Ring."

_-VSSHHHHHHHH_

In a single instant they were all thrown back, the shock-wave of the near galactic proportions forcing them against the ground with a cry. Stones that had littered the sky shattered and clattered to the ground, the fence vanished and the sky darkened more than it already had. Even with the burning pain however it had been more than apparent that they were the lucky ones in this strike, that they had it considerably easy compared to the actual duelists.

Far in the distance Blue-Eyes was dissolving into nothing but ash on the grounds after all, and as Katsuya looked to the crater that had been formed by its fallen form he found himself pulling Mokuba up by the arm. "C'mon," he said with a nervous swallow, the boy nodding almost stiffly as they began to push through their pain and run forward, "C'mon," he repeated desperately, "We gotta get t' her... We..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Did you forget?" Noa laughed, voice booming and thundering across the sky as Seto slowly pulled herself back out of the crater to collapse on her front at the hole's edge. "Did you forget what turn this was? This is MY realm!" the 'God' roared, robes billowing in a non-existent wind as he leered at the girl before him. "And the final turn of creation! The round where my TRUE deckmaster arises, where the almighty SHINATO comes forth... Allowing me to stand as GOD!" he echoed commandingly, "Just as it should be..." Just...

As it 'should'...

The blond bit his lip and pushed Noa's words from mind, continuing forward as the others followed behind them through their own recovery. "We're almos' there," Katsuya was assuring his friend, Mokuba stumbling somewhat on the broken terrain as they ran toward Seto's collapsed form, "We're almos' there," he whispered, "Jus' keep runnin'..."

"Hah... Hah, hah... ...Hah... Nee-sama!" Mokuba shouted, the woman blearily opening her eyes to reach out from the edge of the crater. "NEE-SAMA!" he screamed, pulling out from Katsuya's grasp and breaking into an even quicker run, "Please, don't die!" The woman couldn't say anything though, despite the fact that she so clearly wanted to try. Her body was battered and broken, her hand shaking as it was held out, her entire form covered in dirt and ash and blood, reddened and irritated, not a single place left untouched by the attack. She...

She... "Seto-chan..."

How was she still alive? How... After all this, how was she...

It was impossible not to weep at the sight. Impossible not to stop and stare, and simply let the tears roll down their cheeks. "NEE-SAMA!" Mokuba was crying, tripping and falling to his knees as his sister's hand fell short from fatigue. "Nee-sama! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" he wept, bowing his head as he shook. "So sorry..."

"It's... Okay," Seto rasped weakly, bringing her hand upward as her brother cried. The woman was forcing herself to move. To get closer, to at least be able to touch her brother's cheek, to wipe the tears from his eyes and offer at least a shred of comfort. "I'm... Gk... I'm... Fine... Don't... Cry," the woman continued, tears developing in her own eyes despite the words, her fingers shaking uncontrollably as she brought her hand upward. "Don't cry... Show you're strong... And don't cry... No matter what..."

"N-Nee-sama..." Mokuba choked, wiping his eyes as his sister continued to struggle before him. "Nee-sama," he wept, his sister's hand coming closer to his face. "I-"

They never heard what words followed that.

For at that moment it was Noa's own words who overpowered them both, the two before them seeming to freeze in time rather than fear. "Stone Gaze," the 'God' whispered, Katsuya's eyes quivering as he stared at the now colourless sight before him. No...

No... "No... S-Seto-chan," Katsuya whispered, looking at the two with wide and tear-filled eyes as he took a step forward. Were tears falling from the stone, the stone that now sat before him? The statues who were mere centimetres apart from reunion, the boy having just looked up to meet his sister's weak attempt to comfort him? They... "Mokuba... Seto..." So close...

They'd been so close... "Oh my god," one of the others were whispering, still standing far from their location as their own misery became apparent. "Kaiba..."

"K-Kaiba-han..."

"No..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Katsuya's briefly closed eyes snapped open as Noa's chuckling again broke the air, the blond slowly turning back as the so-called 'god' laughed. "Such a pity, isn't it?" he sneered, those below shifting through variant forms of rage and despair both as Katsuya grit his teeth and shook. "So close, yet not close enough..."

"You... Kaiba-san," Yugi wept, shaking his head as he stared toward the stone figures. "Mokuba-kun..." Noa did not care for nor bother addressing the group below. He merely held his menacing grin and chuckled, eyes narrowed with apparent mirth.

"This statue... I think I'll call it 'Futility'," he decided, crossing his arms as the expression grew wider. "You can guess why I would imagine..."

"You..." If the phrase was 'straw' breaking the camel's back, then this would be the grain of salt that did so. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

A roar of energy seemed to flash through the area and as both Katsuya and the Other Yugi leered upward Noa appeared to smirk, clearly enjoying the rage he'd put the boy into. "You toyed with us, with her... You humiliated her in the worst way possible before tormenting her before our eyes!" he screamed in accusation, red eyes almost flashing in the light.

"You used Mokuba as a shield, y' drew things out f'r no reason jus' f'r their pain... CAN'T YOU FEEL ANYTHIN'!" Katsuya snarled in addition, eyes wide and filled with pain as his mind continued to fill with the last few tear-filled whispers he'd heard before Noa cut in. "CAN'T YOU HEAR THEM!"

Noa merely sneered, taking a seated position on the air. "Feel?" he asked, the smirk growing darker. HN! This is simply fate as it stands. I predicted all of this," he continued, a shaking his head. "And it's all for the sake of my victory..."

"VICTORY?" the Other Yugi spat, voice filled with an incredulous rage. "YOU LOST THAT FIGHT!"

"What... He 'lost'?" Anzu repeated, the woman shaking her head.

Ren nodded, his own hood flared as he answered his partner's question. "Kaiba had the Twilight Zone Dragon even after she set that trap card... Since it comes back after death it would have been a tie," he spat angrily, "But she summoned Blue-Eyes instead!"

"She summoned the dragon so that Mokuba would be able to pull himself back into clarity," Shizuka continued, clenching her spear and bowing her head as she attempted to reign in her anger. "So that she could save her brother!"

"An' all we're doin' is arguin' with YOU abou' it!" Katsuya roared, cloak seeming to furl and smoke off his form as the others jumped back, the blackened flames catching and burning the ground where they fell. "While you laugh an think 'f how t' get rid 'f all us, or how t' amuse yerself..! You want to take her place?" he snarled, the others stepping back for reasons beyond him as the cloak continued to dye black and melt into his shadow. "You think you can replace HER? I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU!" he roared, kicking from the ground to leap upward as shadows filled his vision and covered him from above, "You can't control anything!" the blond spat as the darkness swirled behind and above him, "Not really... Not when you can't understand it! NOA... I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he roared, his mouth and the mouth of a formless demon's both opening up as 'Shinato' drew back in confused fear. "AND I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING REMAINS OF EVEN YOUR SOUL! HR _AAAAAAHHH!_ "

He didn't know where this power came from.

He didn't want to even ask.

" _Merea,_ " he could hear in his mind as he charged, wings spread out from behind and above him on a shadow's flame-like form while he ran on the air, " _Merea, reel in your anger NOW_!" the ghost hissed, his friend only partially listening. His anger? But why? Why should he even BOTHER with something like that? " _JUST DO IT,_ " the ghost wailed, sounding almost desperate in his mind, " _BEFORE YOU-_ "

"Ohohoh... Now this is interesting," Noa chuckled, the enormous being of 'liquid' shadow charging toward him as Katsuya himself snarled and ran beneath it on thin air. "Perhaps I've made the better decision after all..." Better decision?

The distance seemed to almost increase between the two but he couldn't notice, he didn't care. He wanted to do nothing but end this... End it now, end it all-

"I do prefer keeping my sex intact after all..." What?

The blond momentarily froze, the shadows around him seeming to melt and move through the air like a strange gathering of anti-gravitational liquid. That statement... Noa was obviously a man, or at least a 'boy' right down to the core, so it did seem strange that he'd considered Seto's body but...

If he was going to take... A different one...

' _I'll make you a puppet,_ ' he'd said, the words piercing Katsuya's thoughts as he shook.

"YOU...MONSTER! I ATTACK!" he roared, charging forward as shouts from below and within his mind both erupted in protest, the shadows seeming to gather and wrap around his form as he lashed forward. "HRAA _AAAAAHHHH!_ "

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I don't think so," his opponent hissed, seemingly passing through him as the blond choked and froze. Didn't...

"Gh-" The blond fell to his knees as he stopped on the other side of the 'angel', clutching his chest before collapsing even further forward. "GHN..."

" _Merea..!_ "

"JONOUCHI!"

"NIHAN!"

The last thing he saw as the shadows dissipated from at his feet was a blinding light...

And above him, he thought he saw his own body looking down with a sneer, any remaining traces of the being he'd attacked with vanishing into dust. The last thing he heard however, was a challenge...

A challenge of revenge, a challenge from a friend...

And the word...

DUEL.


	21. Valkyria

The place that he stood in was not the Virtual World, or at least not the one he knew. Nor was it the real world, or even the world of his 'dreams', the blinding and merging white of the scenery creating the illusion that there wasn't a floor, were no walls...

Nothing.

Not like the space of his dreams, where there truly wasn't anything. The fact was, he wasn't even sure where he was. All he knew was that he was there, and somehow still alive after Noa had pulled him from his body.

...(Wait, was that what he did? And how did he know-)

"Gh..." A rush of pain ran through him at that moment, the blond grimacing as he stared at the blinding white around him. "Ahggg... My head," he hissed, slowly sitting up to hold it in his hands. "Ahgggg..."

"You've awakened," a familiar voice muttered, the blond jumping as 'Kisara' and 'Seraph' both walked over. Their clothing had reverted to the white 'suits' and uniforms they'd held before hand, and as wings shifted just slightly the pair looked down with arms crossed behind their backs. The programs... The things Noa had made, the-

"Ah- Y-You two..!"

The pair merely stared as the teen attempted to regather his thoughts, both blinking at the same moment in an almost eerie manner before speaking. "It was a close call," Seraph said plainly, dull grey eyes seeming almost dead in appearance as he looked to the blond.

"Very close," Kisara continued, nodding her head. Katsuya continued to rub his brow, frowning somewhat as he looked over. "We almost didn't make it."

"That's because you're 'weak'," her brother responded in monotone, not even looking to the girl as he spoke. "An 'Anag'." Ana-

Hang on, he'd heard that phrase before... And as Kisara responded to her 'brother', he could remember her saying this as well. "I told you not to call me weak," the girl pressed, about as much emotion as a spoon seeping into her voice. "So stop."

...Had he heard this before though..? "I could," Seraph answered, "But it would not change the fact that you're weak."

Yes. "I am not weak."

Yes he had. "Yes you are- your name means 'weak'."

And it was about time to stop. "No," the girl said blandly, "My name means-"

As in now. "Alrigh' alrigh' alrigh'," Katsuya shouted quickly holding his hands out as he shook himself and walked over to the pair. "I got it..." The blond separated the two somewhat, before stepping back to stare. "Sheesh... You two are... Really creepy when it comes t' arguin," he coughed, shaking his head.

"They can't help it," a young woman seemed to whisper, the blond in the white and empty room turning with narrowed eyes as it echoed around him. Where... Where had that voice come from he wondered, turning again as he continued on. "They only know your memories and their programming," she was saying, the sound seeming to reverberate around him completely. "They know nothing else; they are not the 'real' children you know." But he didn't know them he wanted to say, Katsuya frowning as a breeze passed by. Not completely, not...

Somehow, for some reason, he was correcting himself with that, and agreeing with this 'woman'. "...Who are you?" he said after a moment, swallowing somewhat nervously as his mind filled with thoughts and facts that he had never known before. "An' where is this place!"

"...I am a ghost," the voice answered, Kisara and Seraph both saying the same thing as a figure appeared from their shadows. There was no answer to the location, not further response from the two children and as the dust began to form a human of sorts the children took a somehow more lifeless form. "A fragment of memory sealed in time... I could not speak," she continued, almost weeping in tone as her guest frowned, "And I could not do more than watch dully as all that you see occurred... And for that," the woman whispered, shaking her still forming head, "You must forgive me." Forgive...

"But who are y'?" he pressed, watching as the dust hovered in the air. "Why would I have t' forgive you?"

The children's shadows and wings seemed to fragment in response to this question, their monster-like limbs scattering into a mist between the two to coat the dust woman before him. A gown was the first to appear, floor length and as white as all that was around them, blending in perfectly. Then shoulders, and arms, pale skinned where he could discern it from the rest of the room...

And finally there was a mask, hiding behind it a head with hair that fell almost to the same length of the dress. Hair that was identical to Noa's in colour. Hair that was styled like he had in his 'female' form...

"...I am a ghost," the woman repeated, bowing her head to the teen before her. "I am someone who once knew the boy you hunt... But you cannot save yourselves the way you chase him now," she pressed, again shaking her head as Katsuya stared. "To do so is suicide." This mask...

The woman stared forward with a mask that covered her face completely, white porcelain barely standing out amid the scenery. Gold lined the rims of the details, such as hair and eyelashes. It lined the wings that spread high from behind the brow, accenting the gold that adorned the woman's bracelets. _Dis_ , a voice told him, Katsuya narrowing his eyes somewhat. _Seer_. _Valkyrie_.

But how did he know that...

...Was it her? "...You..." The blond swallowed, silence causing the sound to echo around the room at ten times the usual volume. No, his mind told him. It wasn't her. It was something else... "...Why would it be 'suicide'?” he asked, deciding not to continue with the conversational circles as he stepped forward. "An' how do y' know this?"

The ghost seemed to simply stare with those words, a wind blowing the gown about her feet before she spoke. Of course staring was all she could do he supposed, with a mask like that. "'Noa' is 'God' in this world," the woman stated plainly, hair continuing to blow slowly in some unseen wind. "He sees all, and hears all. Under his eye," she explained, "I have not been able to speak or move." No... It wasn't 'not', his mind told him. It was 'too scared to'. But why... And... "...Until now."

Why now?

"Noa placed some of himself in the two you see here," she told him, gesturing to the now 'dead' puppets at the side. "A small part, just enough to connect them to himself," the woman said calmly. "It is enough to give them an individual mind," the spirit continued. "Something that allowed my consciousness to hide within them. This is not the first time we have spoken," she added, a flash appearing in the back of Katsuya's mind. Not...

No. No it wasn't. ' _Reset_ ,' he'd said, Katsuya's eyes glancing over Seraph before moving back to the woman with a frown. He said... "...'Don' Pause th' Game,' he repeated, the cloak around him shifting somewhat as he stepped forward. "R'set."

"Correct." Of course it was his mind told him. (As to why his mind was acting oddly smug he wasn't too sure.) "Noa is beyond my reach," the woman mourned, emotions far betraying the blank mask she wore. "For that reason there is something I need you to do," she continued pitifully, "Something important... As the one I have pulled from the battle field," she went on, "And as the one I have chosen to aid me..." Er- Hold on, pulled from the field?

Chosen? "W-Wai'... What?" he coughed, shaking his head. "What are y' talkin' abou-"

"Please... Listen to me," the woman begged, stepping forward as the two children stood at the sides and continued with their silent vigil. "I need you to do this, more than anything... Jonouchi Katsuya," she continued, mask clattering to the ground as the blond hurriedly stepped back with wide and horrified eyes at what lay beneath. "Please... Just one thing..."

Just one thing, don't look at the face. Just one thing, but-

"W-Well... W-What is it?" he choked, staring at the woman's face as he fell back and continued to stare, the woman leaning forward. "What-"

"Kill him." Kill-

Sometimes he really hated his luck with these things.

* * *

There were limits to just how much the human mind could take. In some cases one could say they surpassed the limits of the body by a long shot, with the mind able to adapt even to the most gruesome of injury where the body would long collapse; and with all the damage that occurred within this accursed realm he would almost agree, given how many times he'd managed to find himself looking nauseatingly at his own organs.

But then there were those who did not agree, who believed that before the body cracked the mind would long since break into pieces, never to be repaired again. Watching Kaiba's duel against Noa, watching the twisted and copied forms he'd taken, and more importantly watching as her own brother, their friend pummelled the woman into the ground, shouted at her in rage...

He would have to agree with that as well, and so had Yugi. When he and his lighter self agreed on something, there was a strange 'pulse' in their body he found. A surge of energy, as though a point of perfect resonance had been reached between two voices to bring about an echoing chorus that resonated across an entire city, a feeling of unity that was only rivalled by that fusion with Jonouchi in their last battle. Of course the incidents were more often than not quite simple, and the feeling was more often than not rather brief to say the least. Did they want to go to the arcade? Of course they did, who didn't want to play games at that moment! Was their English teacher too boring to bother paying attention to? Definitely! (But it would probably be a good idea to pay attention to Chono nonetheless, as he was now beginning to regret making her penalty game so noticeable... She had to learn eventually though right?)

It had never been so strong though, the feeling pulsing through him now. Never, not in a single moment that they'd been 'bonded'. He had never heard his lighter half curse as strongly as this either, in or out of the mind; never felt such a rush of anger through their bond, never felt such a desire to do just what the 'light' had feared of his 'darkness'...

That wasn't him he told himself, that wasn't his partner.

That wasn't Yugi.

But there were exceptions to those rules, and those exceptions were more than realized when such lines as had been present on the field were crossed. The Big 5 was one thing; at least then they could assume the violence in the name of cruel vengeance, and shake themselves off as they struggled to find a way out. They could push through the trauma of each injury, and know, with a sigh of relief, that they would never see them again. This however, had no 'reason', and no chance of simply being pulled away. Noa had grinned the entire time he fought, and he'd strung his opponent along like a cat with a string. And Kaiba had little choice but to follow in a blind rage, striking ironically with the closest thing she could bring up for 'claws'. Right until the very end, after her secret of over seven years had been shattered, her body broken, her entire being humiliated and spat upon, her brother as well put through an agonizing mental hell after doing harm to his beloved sibling.

Questions could be asked by the others on how this was all happening, and on those fighting on the field, but the others had no questions to ask anymore. The situation was too grave, too horrific to even stand. So what if Seto Kaiba was a woman? Strange, but for the moment they had been far more concerned with the damage done to that woman's body, to the blood staining her white shirt, to the burns covering more or less bare arms and legs, to the grit determination and rage nonetheless exacted upon her otherwise perfectly healthy opponent as he sneered from above. There had been jokes earlier on. Comments on attractiveness (And he would idly admit that she was indeed the sort of woman who could have made a career in modeling), comments on Noa's constant shifting...

But now was not the time.

And even as a monstrous shadow arose from Jonouchi's feet, launching forward and almost clinging to his back with liquified claws with an inhuman screech, he was only dimly aware that he and Yugi were in the same place at the same time. Only just aware that they were both watching through the body's eyes, forming a strange mix of 'souls' as their friend became so filled with rage that his very soul seemed to split before them. It was only after Jonouchi made his last and futile attack that the switch completed, that Yugi's resulting surprise and horror allowed him to take over for the moments following. The shadows melted from existence the moment they collided with Noa's form. But rather than Noa standing amid the destruction as Jonouchi fell to the ground, Jonouchi's body merely took his place. Stood there with an expression far unlike his own, in the robes of their enemy with wings wide spread, shining with the same 'glow' of the 'god'.

"Hnhn _hnhnhn_..." It couldn't be... "I made the right choice," their 'friend' chuckled, cracking his knuckles experimentally as naught but a set of monk's robes fell to the ground before burning into ash. "In the end," Noa continued with a sneer. "This body is the better choice." This...

Was not just an illusion this time. "Oh my god," Otogi muttered, staring up in disbelief. "He... He took..."

"Nihan," another of the group wept, hands brought up to her mouth as she shuddered. "You... You took my brother's BODY!" Shizuka screamed, eyes wide as the teen rather proudly leaned down in a 'bow'. "You stole-"

"As a matter of fact," came 'Jonouchi's voice, laced with dark and sadistic mirth, "Yes... Yes I did... Are you going to do anything about it?" he added darkly, eyes flashing as the girl gripped her spear.

"You... YOU..." Anzu hurriedly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder at that, but when Shizuka turned she only saw the woman's scowling face directed to the sky. They'd do something. Just not now. Not now. Soon...

"NOA," the Other Yugi hissed, cutting off shouts and threats as their opponent looked down. The air seemed to shift despite its nonexistence. Seemed to thicken with rage, and with hate... But for once, his partner was not trying to reel this rage in. And for once, that was just fine. "I challenge you in Kaiba's place, to finish this duel!" he growled, Noa raising his eyebrows in idle curiosity. "Do you hear me?"

Noa continued to stare, eyes narrowing slightly. "...'Finish'?" he repeated, the drawling tone of his best friend meeting the air as he snorted. "Hn! Now that's odd... As I recall," the blond continued with a sneer, "'Last Turn's effects mean that I already won. Your challenge is a little late... 'Friend'." Friend!

The boy growled in response, Noa's grin appearing to widen at the obvious distaste those below him held. Nonetheless however he steeled himself, pulling out his boomerang to open it wide and go on with his challenge. "True," Yugi said almost coldly, "Last Turn took effect... But so long as there are cards and lifepoints remaining," he continued dangerously, "There is still a battle to be had. I will take Kaiba's remaining deck," the boy shouted, pointing his weapon forward with a nod, "And mix it with my own... And using her life points against yours!" Yugi snarled, "I'll fight you for their lives!"

The grin widened. "Ohhh... A power deck merged with a strategy deck... And with so little life points too," Noa chuckled, seemingly crossing his arms in curiosity. "Well... Are you sure about this?"

The boy merely nodded, narrowing his eyes. "Kaiba's cards, Mokuba and Jonouchi's spirits... With their combined power and will I will fight for their freedom," he uttered lowly, opponent staring a moment longer as the others protested. "I could not be more certain, _Noa_."

The others however could. "You... You can't," Anzu whispered, shaking her head as she looked to the boy. "You just can't..."

"Seventy four hundred against four hundred-aru... It's suicide," Honda barked, towering and imposing form leaning down on the ground with an almost miserable face as Yugi continued to ignore the protests. "You don't even have any cards in your hand for this, you-"

"As I said," Yugi repeated, giving his friends each a quick look as they fell silent. "I CHALLENGE YOU!" he roared, turning to look back up to Noa. "Unless you're afraid of the chances against you!"

Noa's grin fell flat with those words, the teen narrowing his eyes at the cut to his pride. "'Afraid'?" he 'questioned', feathers seeming to bristle in anger. "Hn! Very well," he spat, Yugi abruptly pulled upward as the ground at his feet tore from the rest of the earth to rise into the air. "I'll grant your wish and kill you now!" he roared, the sky darkening and rumbling as he snarled.

Gh- Stone...! "Ah- Yugi?" those below shouted, the boy briefly looking down as large chunks of earth and plant life ripped from the air to form their field. "Yugi!" This...

Was going to be difficult.

They were rising higher, higher... Though there were enough ruins remaining from the cliff to form a stair case upward the entire field was a mess of floating stones at variant levels. Each and every one of them seemed to form a spiral however. A pattern...

They were all centred on Noa. The boy did not once flinch as the field's stones locked into place, gripping his boomerang tightly as a screen and a dome of light appeared around him. Cards were swirling around him. But it wasn't the same as before the other duels... These were Kaiba's cards he told himself. Those in her grave, and those in her deck. Nothing more and nothing less, though he could tell that with the Ark of Shinato gone the monsters from before had been returned to the graveyard... Or at least, the ones that hadn't been removed from play were, meaning that Blue-Eyes was likely quite lonely.

For now however his focuses were on his opponent, the opponent now wearing his best friend's face beneath the robes of a so-called 'God'. The one hovering a number of feet beyond any foot hold he could get to. "...Noa!" he began, a counter of cards coming to mind as he was asked to trade out exactly half of the deck with others on the screen. "You cold blooded snake... I hope you're prepared," the boy began, only to correct himself with a sneer. "...No... I think I'll be glad if you aren't prepared for what I am about to do to you!"

Noa merely sneered at the comment, a small sphere of cards in his hands as he spun it through the air. "Hn! You say that now, but the duel hasn't even begun yet... We're going to make this fair," he continued darkly, crossing his arms as the sphere snapped out of existence. "I've traded out exactly half of my deck for monsters of my choosing," he explained, narrowing his eyes somewhat. "And of course, before we begin," he added with a smirk, "You may alternatively change out your deckmaster with another if you wish..."

Yugi said nothing in response to the comment, simply allowing the deck-master's scaled hide to overlay his own leathery armor, spikes and cruel 'daggers' coming from every armored joint. "That's not necessary," he growled bitterly, the weapon in his hands also curving to a more vicious appearance. "Kaiba and Mokuba's cards, along with the hearts of both themselves and Jonouchi both can't fail me here after all; so I'll take my chances," he spat, boomerang twirling in his hand as he jumped forward to toss the device to begin the match, "And I'll fight until the very end! I summon Gazelle in defense mode!" he announced, the monster appearing as naught but a thick and protective mist as the weapon he'd tossed seemed to duplicate in the air during his charge. The Gazelle was merely a shield of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't create the illusion of the first attack. So for now, while he was hopping stones in an attempt to reach his opponent... "HA _HHHHH_!"

"Hn!" As his opponent raised the second, real weapon above him, Noa merely frowned. Blades were aimed directly toward Noa's skull and yet in retaliation the blond jerked his head to the side, seeming to pulse with energy as the boy approached. "Fool, challenging a computer..." Gh- Shit! "Divine Ring," he echoed, a gravitational blast throwing the boy back just before the blades could connect. "I may not be able to truly kill you this turn," he continued with a frown, floating through the air to hover a number of feet from his victim, "But that does not make you immune to my strikes."

"GH _HA-HG-_ " Rocks blew from the path his body took, shouts coming from below as the boy wheezed. Stones had pierced through the weak points of his armor, and the defensive shield he'd held was now gone, having barely protected him from the extensive damage done to the stones. Yet despite this the counter in his mind depleted, and with horror he found himself turning to Noa from his small 'crater'. "You..." Information had loaded into his mind and already he knew what had happened. The deckmaster ability...

To halve his life _every time_ he was attacked... "It hurts doesn't it?" his opponent chuckled darkly from above, "To have your life cut in two even with your defense... To watch as it's added to my own," he continued with a grin, cracking his ringed knuckles as he laughed. There was little to be seen in terms of what his added strength did to the teen, but he could already tell it wasn't good. This ability... "Of course," Noa was saying from above as his opponent cringed, "It's your turn. I'm a 'benevolent' God; I'll let you live long enough to make your move..." Tch...

' _Benevolence_ ' his ass. Nonetheless luck was on his side as he stood, a card appearing in his mind. Monsters... He needed monsters for now, and a monster was what he got. "Hn! I set a card face down!" he announced, boomerang at the ready as he took a defensive stance on the edge of the floating rock. "End my turn!"

A cold breeze blew with those words, his opponent seeming to nod. "Hnnn... So strange," Noa sighed, pacing the air as Yugi waited for the teen to strike. "You look ready to cut my head off! And yet I don't think it's because of 'this'," he continued, bringing a finger to his chin as his free one momentarily gestured to the body. "After all," he went on with crossed arms, "You know full well this isn't real."

That was true he thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes. This world was fake along with everything they saw, so...

"It isn't as though I've killed your friend. But Kaiba on the other hand... She's your _enemy_ ," the blond pressed almost confusedly, "Your rival... So why? Am I perhaps wrong?" he asked, the boy below staring almost blankly in response. "Is there something 'more'?" More? ... Oh.

Of course not! "...No," he said clearly, still frowning as he looked toward his opponent. "You aren't wrong. We're rivals and 'enemies' to an extent, that's true. Perhaps it's fate taunting us," the boy went on somewhat darkly, "Playing with our minds that leads us to that point despite friendships and bonds slowly being built, I wouldn't know. But despite all of this," Yugi spat, eyes narrowing much further as his body shook in anger, "We would NEVER bring it to this level! We would never touch the other's personal lives as you have, never bring such matters to the field! And to not only reveal those secrets but to turn a family against itself! We wouldn't even CONSIDER such a thing!"

"And why is that?" Noa asked plainly, a mist seeming to form from his hand as he shaped it like 'clay' within bored hands. "Just why would you say that?"

"Because that's our 'word', our 'agreement'," he responded, watching as a three-legged crow moved to sit on the blond's shoulder from where it had been molded from the smoke. "Because it's our promise as duelists, rivals, and should she ever admit it, friends! That's why!"

Silence filled the air a moment before Noa scoffed, shaking his head as he frowned. "Hn! Friends... What a bullshit answer," he sneered, narrowing his eyes.

"To you maybe," he retorted, still gripping his weapon to wait for an attack from the teen before him. "But someone like you, who uses nothing but cheap tricks to win their matches isn't someone I would expect to understand. Kaiba fought fairly," the boy called out in pride, the statue far below seeming to shift despite being completely immobile with those words. "She fought for a just cause, and the promises she made are carried with the cards she left behind. And in her place," Yugi roared, finally forgoing patience as he kicked from the ground, "I WILL DEFEAT YOU!"

"So you would hope," Noa countered, wings flapping back to allow him to dodge the boomerang his opponent had thrown. The blade curled on the air and his opponent gave a short laugh, before pulling higher into the air with outstretched hands. "Hah! Your luck has still run short," the teen chuckled, pointing his monster forward. "This monster at my side might not be powerful," he continued, "But even the smallest shade of death is enough for a mere mortal such as yourself!"

Hn! "Then this 'mere mortal' will have to prove you wrong!" the boy snarled, hopping from stone to stone as he came closer with the returned blade for a second shot. "HAH!" As the boomerang flew forward it curved around Noa's attack, the 'God' having released his blast at that very moment. As the glass of his defense monster shattered however a handle appeared in his grip, his body blown back to land on the stone with ease. A blade grew from a silvery hilt as smoke rose from the shattered glass, and despite the pressure and force against the blade it blew against and around the sword to leave him perfectly unharmed. The black and violet wave of energy instead blew harmlessly to the side...

And when the dust from the strike cleared his boomerang returned, quickly folded back at his side. "Y-YOU... IMPOSSIBLE!" Noa roared, eyes wide as he looked down through the dust. "How did you manage to-"

"Hn! Think carefully on the monster I've just summoned," Yugi retorted, pulling his blade back with all the intent of an attack, "While I destroy this one! HAH-"

_-fsssss..._

Metal met nothing but smoke as he swung the blade at 'Yata-Garasu', the boy's eyes widening in confusion. The steam and smoke was all he cut, and even then it did nothing...

Nothing at all. "It vanished," he muttered, shaking his head. Vanished into...

Nothing. Yugi's eyes widened further as the smoke retreated to Noa's hands, the 'God' smirking viciously as he held it in his grasp. No- it hadn't vanished.

It returned to Noa's hand. "Of course," he whispered, before the scowl on his face deepened further. "The 'Spirit Series'..."

" _Spirit Series?_ " his other asked, before answering his own question as he recalled a much earlier conversation on the matter. " _Ah, that's right... That's the series based on Japanese folk-lore isn't it?_ " he asked, his question again being answered the moment it was asked.

The boy nodded as his partner muttered on somewhat, pacing around the rock before his opponent as a drawn card appeared in his mind. Spirit cards... Yugi watched as his opponent crossed his arms, a spell appearing to activate on the field to bathe him in a halo of light. "Exactly," he answered his partner, narrowing his eyes. "Each are cards that can't be special summoned and each are cards that return to the hand at the end of a turn... ...Tch... And I see you've played 'Spring of Rebirth' to go with that," he continued to his opponent in aggravation, Noa chuckling darkly in response.

"But of course," he sneered, narrowing his eyes as the spell gave him a lifepoint boost in response to Yata-Garasu's return. "These are the spirits of the dead, the spirits of the far beyond... As though I would fight with anything else, when I as 'God' have them in my control," he continued darkly. 'God'...

Tch..! It was any wonder Seto hadn't simply forgone cards all together in her match! It was his turn now though he thought to himself, gritting his teeth. This was one of Kaiba's cards in his hands right now, one of Kaiba's cards that he'd just drawn. He could almost hear her voice reading the description, the 'flip effect' of the machine... Explaining to him that this was her fight as well, and that if he thought she was standing on the sides he had another thing coming.

' _It'll destroy him_ ,' she was whispering, ' _It'll leave nothing left..!'_ This card...

Very well. "I set a card face down,” he said almost quietly, stepping forward to stand upon the sheet of glass that appeared in response to the summon. "Now... Do your worst."

"Oh... I'll do more than my 'worst'," Noa sneered, spreading his hands and throwing forth a wave of smoke as legs and arms formed. A four-faced head stared forward, each with an altered expression of rage and calm. "I summon Asura," the teen announced, stone-skinned monster twirling swords in his many hands as he came to rest on the stone below. "And ATTACK!"

"HN!"

Yugi charged the monster as it threw his blade forwards, ignoring the point difference for a moment as he stabbed forward with his 'Fooling Swordsman's blade. It was easily caught by the six armed monster of course, what with a pair of the blades clearing two hands for the giant's use.

And there were many other blades to continue their attack from the other hands in turn, many blades pointed toward him. But despite this the boy took no notice, merely flipping over the giant using the very sword he'd attacked with to kick off to a run from the monster's back. To run still closer to his opponent, pushing from the stones behind the monster and throwing his boomerang forward as he kicked up into the air.

"MY TURN!" he roared, the wicked blades of his boomerang spinning through the air only for it to be caught in his opponent's hand with ease as he fell back to the ground. "Gh-!" No...

Impossible! Noa's eyes narrowed in annoyance as the blade quivered, tightening his grip and forcing the blade to curl and distort in his very hands. "Hn! Fool... I'll break through any attack you even attempt! You're a mere speck of dust," he continued, apparently ignorant to Asura's death at the hands of the shattering sheet of glass he'd struck with his blades, a vortex having swallowed him forward. "A worthless ant in comparison to me! PREPARE TO DIE!" he snarled with an almost vicious grin, throwing the boomerang back as smoke began to whirl around the boy from the shattered defense monster, "AND DISAPPEAR FROM THIS EARTH!"

The boomerang did not fly through Yugi's body as his opponent likely expected. Instead the boy caught it firmly in his grasp by the same dented 'point' Noa had held moments before, raising a foot to let it rest on an enormous 'jar' that had appeared to his side from the smoke. "Fell for it," he said plainly, the blond and glowing 'god' across from him staring in shock as the one-eyed vase appeared to chuckle beneath his opponent's feet. "This was one of Kaiba's monsters... The 'Cyber Jar'," he explained, the monster's mouth opening as a powerful force of suctioned air was pulled toward it. "You know what that does..." Clear all monsters from the field.

Including the opposing deckmaster, his mind told him just now. "HHHAAAHHH! YOU- YOU RAT!" Noa's screams filled the air as cheers erupted from the ground those below slowly making their way up the stones themselves in an attempt to lend their partner a hand. ' _GOOD ONE,_ ' they were shouting, Noa's appearance fading from sight as the winds from the Cyber Jar became tainted by dust and soil. ' _You win! Only two moves and you win!_ ' they cheered, making their way up what was only a small fraction of their coming climb. It seemed that way, true- it seemed he had won... But...

Something told him...

That it wasn't quite so easy.

"ANNICA BEARING!" Noa abruptly shouted through the air, the jar seeming to lock and freeze as it crumbled to scrap and continued its effect from the dust pile it was turning into. "Hah... Hah... Hah..." That shout...

Yugi paled and stared at the cloud before him, swallowing nervously. Noa had vanished from sight by this point, but not permanently it seemed. As the smoke cleared he could hear the incredulous shouts of those below, the opponent re-appearing before them to stand on the far off 'cliffs' in the air. But something seemed different about him this time he realized; though he was unharmed, he was breathing laboriously, wiping his cheek and gasping for breath as one would following a marathon. The glow, he realized, was also gone. The steel 'sun' from behind his opponent, the shine it radiated...

Completely gone, vanished without a trace. But that wasn't the point.

The point was that he was there, standing before him. "You... How are you still alive?" he finally asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Cyber Jar destroys all monsters on the field, including the opposing deckmaster... So how!"

The teen merely grit his teeth, wings hanging almost limp on his back as their weight pressed on his body. There was no 'god-like strength' to hold them up now. Though they had muscles to work with the wings would take time to get used to, and time was not something he had for the moment. "I was careless," Noa hissed, narrowing his eyes in displeasure. "I didn't think you would be able to force me to use this ability..."

"'This' ability?" Yugi repeated, folding his boomerang back into a blade like form as he studied his opponent. The blades repaired themselves in an instant, with the monsters 'Sangan' and 'Gamma the Magnet Warrior' rising at his sides at the same moment as the Cyber Jar's effect completed and his hand was replenished. A full hand of cards, two monsters for a possible tribute combo... He would not lose here! But that ability... "Just what would that be..."

Again Noa spat at the ground, pulling himself to his feet with narrowed eyes as he adjusted the six wings on his back. "Hn... Mortality," he hissed, wiping the spittle from his mouth with a growl. "I fight at your level, with no attack power to call my own for the remainder of this battle," he continued on, wings adjusting once again while he took a defensive crouch. "I'm done with my turn," the teen growled, eyes narrowing further in distaste. "You know as well as I that I can't special summon my monsters to the field... Make your move!" Hn!

Seeing how he wouldn't have to deal with the 'attack point barrier'... "With pleasure!" the boy spat, pulling his weapon back like a sword as he charged and kicked off the ground toward the 'angel'. "I sacrifice my two monsters," he announced, Sangan and Gamma both turning into dust on the wind as the swirled about at his side, "And while Sangan's effect activates," he went on, a card appearing in the back of his mind, "I summon the Dark Magician to the field!" Two pairs of feet came to rest on the next rock he landed on, and as he stared Noa down a blade and a staff were both pointed forward. "NOW," he shouted, kicking off another floating stone as his opponent took to the air with grit teeth, "ATTACK DIRECTLY!" he roared, boomerang unfolding as he tossed it forward, "BLACK MAGIC!"

Thunder cracked through the air as the charging Dark Magician gripped his staff, black lightning shooting from the weapon's tip to hurl their opponent backward. Sparks flew from the teen's skin, leaping across golden armor... As he fell back however, a curtain appeared from behind him. An alteration in the light, shimmering oddly as their opponent disappeared through it.

"Ah... Where did he go?" those beneath him shouted, eyes wide as they looked up past the stones their allies had landed upon. "He's just... Vanished" Vanished...

Partially, at least. "That curtain..." That was obviously the 'where' in the matter, but what...

" _It's a spell,_ " 'Yugi' muttered from the back of his mind, the darker side frowning somewhat. Hn? What was that..? " _Other me,_ " his lighter half shouted in worry, voice raising in alarm, " _It's a spell! He's summoning another monster!_ "

"What-!" This was a summon?

"You... Humiliating me like this," an echoing voice growled, Noa's opponent narrowing his eyes as his friends slowly came to the field to take positions behind the stones. They'd made it at last, despite any exhaustion it resulted in... But for now their opponent was out of reach, in another 'world' as his spell said. "How DARE you..." How dare...

That SCUM... "How dare I?" he responded with an incredulous snarl, looking around with wide and caution filled eyes for any sign of his opponent. "Tch... Compared to what you and your 'father' did to Kaiba and Mokuba, this is NOTHING!" Yugi growled, clenching his fists as the handle of his boomerang imprinted upon his hand. To even claim that this was any form of 'humility'... "Don't even try to use an excuse like THAT!"

Hissing was coming through the air. Low growls and snarls, seemingly from nowhere, causing those outside to look around in unease. "Hnmp! This is MY realm!" Noa spat, his voice continuing to echo through the air amid the snarls and hissing of whatever beasts he'd summoned forth. "No matter how many ants you bring to your aid, how long you stand against me," he raged on, "I will smite you where you stand for your blasphemy!" 'Blasphemy? If not for everything else going on he'd almost have to laugh.

Yugi narrowed his eyes, attentions honing in on the curtain before him as it seemed to shift and quake with some unseen force. "I've never heard of a God who acted so cruel to the denizens of his world," the boy hissed, shaking his head. "I've never seen a more foul 'creator'... Noa," he went on, pulling his weapon back to prepare for an attack. "You've been dead too long, desensitized to this world... All souls have a place to go, and this isn't it!" he shouted, gesturing to the world and the 'sun' above them. "You need to move on... I'll defeat you," he continued, bringing his hand back down, "But I'll also send your spirit to rest!"

Silence was his answer for the next few moments, the curtain before him shuddering to a stop. "Rest..?" The teen's voice almost seemed confused at the term, but in an instant the momentary weakness was thrown back, low rumbling coming through the air as the curtain again furled in a nonexistent wind. "HN! I don't NEED rest!" Noa spat, voice echoing clearly through the air as the curtain blew back to reveal those behind it. "All I need is the satisfaction of your death! I activate the spell 'Next World' and summon a monster of equal level to your own," he roared, eight great and snarling serpent heads meeting Yugi's gaze as he stumbled back from the curtain's entrance. "A monster whose power surpasses yours! The Yamata Dragon!" Noa announced, gripping eight 'leashes' in his hands as he stood on the back of the great and snarling serpent. "And now... ATTACK," he commanded, a thick blaze of fire exiting each dragon's head as Yugi's Magician hurried to his defense. "SPREAD FIRE!"

Each of the heads took aim and each of the heads struck true, the fires merging in one point to concentrate their force on the relatively small target before them. The fires burned...

Burned... "Gh... Ngh... GHHA _AAA-GH_!"

His monster was taking the brunt of the blow for the moment; holding his staff forward and grimacing as the flames ate away at his robes and body. But as the Magician was reduced to ash the force became too much to bear, the strength behind each of the serpent's fires sending the boy back to skid along a stretch of floating ground on his back. He couldn't take another hit like that he told himself in a panic, a card appearing in his mind.

Not again..! "Gh... Swords of Revealing Light!" he countered, a 'field' appearing around them as a series of golden blades appeared in the sky. "Next time you attack," he continued, each of Noa's wings quickly pinned to the ground by a sword, "I'll be ready..!"

"Gh-! You..!"

"Hehehe... And here we thought you'd need our help-aru," Honda chuckled, the others moving from their hiding places as Noa struggled against his bonds. The dog snapped out another laugh, great clawed paws barely finding a place on a number of oversized and uneven rocks at the side. "Hahahahaha..! Good going-aru! Arou... But... That was close huh?" he asked, ears pulling back with an awkward cough as the others nodded.

"Only 100 lifepoints left," Shizuka continued, standing at the dog's side as Yugi pulled himself up from the ashen ground. "That was a lucky draw!" Lucky indeed...

Not many other cards would have saved him, and while he would ordinarily say that it was the 'deck's doing', the fact was that he couldn't feel any connection to any cards within this place. Yugi turned as the others filled the field as best they could, balancing on scattered stones in the air and taking their positions. "Guys..."

They were all prepared to fight. Anzu had Ren at her side, Shizuka was standing beside Honda, and Otogi was finding a position where he could strike with his daggers best.

"...Hn! No matter what happens, we have to keep faith right?" he said after a moment, pulling the boomerang that had fallen to his side from the ground. The words were partially to himself but nonetheless the others nodded, listening as he went on. "As fighters we might not be able to make it through these blades," he warned, Noa snarling from his prison even as the others took looser stances in regard to the comment, "But we can at least do this right? Kuriboh!" he shouted, the monster rising from dust at the call when the card was summoned. "Attack Noa..."

"Kurriiiiii!" With considerable vigour the monster 'nodded', clawed feet scrambling forward along the stones before baring its razor sharp teeth as it jumped. A feral cry screeching through the air the seemingly adorable monster's eyes became slit, mouth widening almost as much as the body was wide. "KUU _UURIIIIIIII_!"

"Tch-!" As one of the swords vanished a wing moved to intercept the beast, Noa appearing to stare with somewhat wide eyes as the monster dug its fangs into his body. There were small bits of blood dribbling from the wound; the wing, one of the top ones, twitched just slightly as the owner stared in distaste, still pinned to the ground despite this action. "Really... Of all the pathetic attempts of attack," he hissed, before throwing the wing forward as the monster was flung off with a shout. "I can't even tell if it touched me or not," he taunted, the others pulling back from the disturbing expression on their friend's face as the teen went on. "Well... You might have immobilized me," Noa spat, those before him silent in the face of 'Jonouchi's sneering voice, "But that doesn't mean I can't do anything... I set a monster face down," he announced, a sheet of glass further protecting him from attack as it shimmered before his face. "End turn! Count your 'blessings'," the teen added lowly, gesturing to the swords in his wings. "Because once these cursed blades vanish your death will be right around the corner..." Hn...

He expected as much of a threat really. Yugi merely twirled his weapon at the words however, eventually spinning it to a stop as his next card came to mind. Dark Magician Girl was in his hand now. A level six monster... Which would be handy if not for the fact that his deckmaster ability only affected light monsters he thought under his breath, seeing how he needed one sacrifice. And the fact was, to pull this off...

Well, even to just be safe he'd need more than one monster. The boy shook his head as he returned to the battle's mindset, a mist rising around him as those around him took their positions in the fogging air. His turn he thought to himself.

And he couldn't waste it! "I play Big Shield Guardna in defense," he said calmly, the smoke and mist briefly forming the 'shield' of the beast before sinking to his sides in dormancy. "Kuriboh as well," Yugi continued, the monster in question scurrying to his side, "Will enter defense mode..."

Noa merely continued to growl from across him at the words, muttering curses under his breath as the others stared. "Hehehehe... No where to run now is there?" Ren taunted from the side, the group closing in to prepare for their attack as Noa growled from beneath the remaining blades of light.

"There's still two moves left-aru! By that time," Honda barked in agreement, wolfish grin on his face, "You'll be long gone-aru..!"

Silence was again their answer, a few blades pulling from the top sets of wings as Noa pulled himself to a slouching stance. "...Shameful," he muttered after a moment, hair hanging in his eyes as he leered at the crowd. "So shameful... I predict that this attempt to break the rules of our match will only end in sorrow," the teen hissed. "That before these blades fade from existence," he warned dangerously, "One of you will 'die'. And my predictions are never wrong." ...Gh...

Die? Briefly the others seemed to freeze, the teen across from them setting a few more cards before him in a shield as his turn silently came to an end. The tone in Noa's voice was chilling, frightening even compared to the others he'd used, even as 'Jonouchi'. It was low, grave...

Murderous.

Maybe it was because it was from their friend's voice, a voice they were used to hearing positively, or occasionally just 'calm', but they couldn't help but stare in silence. He himself was having no luck for the moment; his draws wouldn't help him, nothing in his hand could help him... He needed to save his monsters for when the swords vanished, so he couldn't simply sacrifice without thinking either, and with that in mind...

"...I set a card," he finally said, gritting his teeth and gesturing over the field as the 'glass' before him shimmered into existence. "End turn..."

With the very sound of his voice Noa's eyes had snapped forward, darkening with that same haunting light they saw moments ago. "Good," the teen sneered, the first of his glass panels exploding with light at that very moment. "Then it's MINE now... Activate Clock of Destiny!" he roared, the blades in his wings shattering at that moment as he spread his wings to blind those on the field in a golden light. "You think you can cheat a GOD?" he spat, rising into the air with a snarl and a solid wing-beat. "Think again! For each turn we fight now you will lose something dear," the 'god' announced, blinding light piercing their eyes as he continued to fly up into the air. "Including THIS one..!" This turn..!

"W-What?!" Ren shouted in response, the others confused shouts following after.

"What the hell is he talking about-aru..?"

"He's just going to kill us off..!"

Chuckling met the air in response to the shouts, the light only just beginning to fade as the sound of continued beating wings met the air. "Hnhnhnhnhn... If your 'friendship' is so strong," Noa hissed, "Shouldn't you be able to see it? See the answer right before you? You were foolish to place your trust in this boy," he continued with a laugh, a twisted duplicate of their friend's own meeting the air. "Completely moronic..! Like Kaseri has Mokuba and Katsuya has Kaseri," he sneered, looking down at the crowd as one would a pile of scum, "You yourselves have weaknesses that can be taken advantage of! This is what you get for attempting to attack out of 'turn'," he continued, the sound of foot-steps coming through the air as he spoke. "STONE GAZE!"

The petrification spell..!

But then who...

The light finally faded as the sound of something clattering to the ground came over their ears, the shadow that had at that moment attempted a strike on Noa stiffening on the ground with a pained grunt. It was hard to see who it was, for at least initially. The figure had been caught partway through a fall, and thanks to the position of his legs would be forever trapped in that position. Finally however the fog cleared from the air, and daggers could be seen embedded in the ground from where they'd fallen out of shaking hands.

A head of wavy black hair, with a pony tail straightened by the weight of the combined strands...

A vest, a screaming face, permanently fixed in stone...

"Otogi," Yugi muttered as he stared, momentarily frozen as the others drew back from the sight.

"O-Otogi-han," Shizuka repeated, spear falling almost limp in her hands as she stepped backward. "He turned him to..."

He turned him to stone. "Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHA _HAHAHA!_ " It was sick, hearing this laugh from their friend's voice, hearing the distorted warble it brought with it. Hearing the words Noa threw to the air, seeing the expression of insanity across his face...

The expression that coldly reminded him of the spirit that plagued Bakura's existence, that which he'd faced in a duel just hours ago.

"Pathetic... You're all so pathetically WEAK!" the 'god' howled, laughing almost hysterically as the others looked up to him in wide-eyed rage. "This is the fate of all you FOOLS who stand against me," Noa sneered, hands held out before the group that stood below. "An eternity in stone!" The laughter continued with those words, Noa's cards flipping over to reveal monsters and mages before misting out from existence as an eight headed serpent rose up beneath him in response. "Hnhnhnhnhn... A soulless life," Noa snarled lowly, "Unable to truly live and unable to truly die. No pain, no fear... No warmth, no love... I'd almost say he's lucky," the teen sneered, grasping at leashes as the now summoned dragon snapped its jaws and snarled on the field. "Now he doesn't have to watch this! I'm going to turn all of you to stone!" he roared madly, pulling at the leashes as his dragon spat venom and flames into the air, "And when it comes to the end you'll ALL regret siding with HIM!" Tch...

This... This scum...

To take advantage of their connections like this, for no reason! And yet...

...Hold on...

Yugi's eyes narrowed as he thought back to the first match in the virtual realm, back to what the boy had said in his lucid state by the door. ' _The words of a true friend_ ', he'd said with a chuckle, just seconds after he and his lighter half had shared their opinion on both Kaiba and Jonouchi. ' _They make me almost wish I had someone like yourself all those years ago..._ '

...This boy...

A boy with no friends in life and no friends in death...

"...Heh..." As Yugi shook his head the dragon's jaws snapped shut, his allies briefly held at bay by the warning glares of the monsters heads. "You're the pathetic one," he said plainly, Noa looking down with intense rage in response. "The soul can't change after all; no matter how many years pass, you're still a child, a frightened and selfish little boy who wants nothing more than what he didn't have... Open your eyes," he said coldly, Yamata's heads reeling and staring in anger as their controller did the same. "Your words don't phase us."

"'Us'?" Noa repeated, scowl increasing as the others nodded from their positions.

"That's right-aru," Honda snarled, still clinging to the sides of multiple stone cliffs in the air as he growled from above, the serpents around his neck each snapping at the air around their opponent. "Do you think we'll turn our backs on our friend just because of this-aru!"

"Friends don't become friends because it 'suits them'," Anzu continued, Ren beginning to grow in form around her. "They become friends because they trust each other, and care about each other... Because no matter what, they can't live without that other person there! It's a bond," she went on, the snake at her side appearing to listen in silence from behind her. "Like becoming brothers, or sisters... It's family without the genes!"

"Perhaps if your father hadn't done this to you," Yugi went on with an almost pitying tone, his partner quite wholly agreeing, "You would have known this... But Noa," he continued, friends standing around him with determined stares. "Until then, burn this image into your mind; the power of a promise between friends! We won't lose here!" the boy roared, spinning the boomerang in his hands and preparing to attack. "No matter what you throw toward us!"

"You... VERY WELL!" Noa spat, his expression having slowly soured further and further as the conversation went on, mixing insanity with rage. "You want so badly to go to hell I'll do just that! And your friends can each watch while I do it! SPREAD FIRE!" he roared, flames filling the boy's gaze as shouts filled the air. "Before you even think of challenging me," the teen snarled as the fires pushed downward on him, "Remember your life is tied to a POINT SYSTEM! This is the END.. DISAPPEAR," he heard over the flames, "DIE... DIE! I WIN, MUTOU YUGI!"

That was what he thought. True, one of Noa's tributed monsters had been flip summoned before the dragon appeared, activating an effect that forced his monster into attack mode rather than defense. And true, rather than a mist taking this attack he could see the kuriboh, squealing in pain as fires burned it into mere ash and bone before evaporating completely.

But as those around him screamed there was still another card, and despite the grievous burns that were now covering his body he was still able to play it. A needle of sorts appeared in his hands, an injector filled with a red fluid... And holding his breath, he brought the almost knife-like injector to his arm and stabbed downward with as much strength as he could muster.

"Gh... GHK!"

Nutrient Z. The trap card that would just barely spare his life and heal him.

Noa would already know it activated he thought to himself, the fires still forcing him against the ground and to his knees as he breathed laboriously. Kuriboh as well would be long gone but despite that the spell was doing its job, forcing his burns to recover to at least a first degree and minor extent. Four thousand lifepoints in reaction to a 2000 plus point attack...

And as the flames cleared Noa's already scowling face could be seen, the damage reversed to ironically grant him more 'life' than he'd started with. "You... How did you..."

The teen before him couldn't even finish speaking and as he looked at his 'friend's face the boy merely smirked weakly. The red fluids of the Nutrient trap were slowly entering his veins and taking effect... Finishing the rest of the damage done as he choked on his breaths and attempted to stand.

"Heh... Something wrong?" he asked, crushing the now empty container in his hands as it vanished to dust with the completion of the spell. "I'm alive aren't I... Isn't it your turn?" Noa's eyes widened as he stared at the boy, those at the sides grinning almost wickedly as their friend took his weapon up from the ground to prepare his next attack. Scared, his partner was muttering in the back of his mind. Was it just him, or was Noa...

Scared..? "You... I..."

"It looks like your prediction failed-aru," Honda sneered, the enormous hound moving to stand behind his friend. His jaw opened wide, and a light could be seen at the back of his throat. Flames were developing... The same flames that he'd been forced to wield against his friends as the cerberus, an undying fire that would serve an invaluable purpose. "Hehehe... Better luck next time, aru..."

Perhaps they should start to watch their words, his other half muttered nervously. After all- as both of them looked ahead, it was becoming more and more apparent that the already fragile stability of Noa's mind was falling...

Very. Quickly. "Heh... Heheha... Better... Better luck," he was muttering, wings seeming to curl around him as he chuckled manically to himself. "Hg... Gh... Hnhnhnhnhn... Hahahaha... AHAHA! So you've survived this turn!" their opponent laughed, rising still further into the skies as his wings spread far behind him. "That just means you have to live through more of this world's cruel reality! After all," he continued, a spell appearing on the field as the teen glowed with a power that brought his life point count to an intimidating 11000, "It's perfectly fine that you're alive," he sneered, cracking his knuckles in habit. "It just means I can fight you longer..." Gh...

So that was it then? He just wanted to cause more pain? "Hn! Your power did not intimidate me before, and it does not frighten me even now," Yugi spat, before pulling himself onto Honda's head by means of the dog's mane of vipers while the fires in his friend's maw continued to blaze. "I made a promise," he snarled, boomerang in hand as the dog howled, "And that isn't about to end now! I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" he announced, hand thrown to the side as dust and wind blew through the air to form the metal attacker. "And now, we attack... LET'S GO!" he shouted, pointing his weapon forward with wide eyes. "Shizuka... Anzu... Honda... ATTACK!"

The resulting strike was absolute chaos. Anzu and Honda were the first to strike, each sending their own equivalent of a 'fire storm' toward their opponent as the 'god' expertly blocked it with a simple shield from his feathered wings. The same went for Shizuka when she leaped from the side, the girl attempting her second double cast spell only to be blocked by the same feathers, ice and stone clattering harmlessly to the ground below. And now as he pushed off Honda's head, the dog having charged across the stone littered sky to chase after a seemingly fleeing opponent, it was his turn.

The boomerang was flung forward, eyes filled with rage. Though the weapon missed its target the warrior at his side managed to catch the blond in the cross fire, slicing his cheek with his blade before hurriedly saving his summoner from the chance of falling to the ground below. Noa however seemed unphased by all of this. He ducked underneath Shizuka's next strike, flew back from Anzu's 'maelstrom' as Ren howled and slithered away from the retaliation they received...

And as Honda approached with snarls and teeth that dripped with venom and flames he had the gall to yawn. "Hahh... You just haven't learned, have you," he muttered, holding a hand out as Honda's body abruptly froze in place. "Hn! It's my turn anyways I suppose... Time to count down," the teen muttered with a grin, hands placed on the hound's nose.

"W-Wh... You... What are you doing," he yelped, somehow still able to talk despite the inability to move.

The answer of course was simple. "Stone Gaze," Noa hissed in response, the grey coloured stone seeming to 'grow' over Honda's canine form from the tips of the blond's fingers.

"S-Stone g- Nggh..! Y-You..!"

He couldn't speak anymore, even as his tail thrashed with anger. And within moments, that tail was just as frozen as the rest of his body. The dog's statue was by far the largest 'stone' on the field, given his immense size compared to the others. Somehow he'd managed to balance himself on a number of cliffs, with one paw raised in a swipe as his snarling face looked down at his opponent in frozen horror.

An expression quite similar to the crowd's own. "You..."

Noa grinned almost maliciously as he looked back, eyes narrowed in mirth. "Hnhnhnhn... One by one, this is what will happen to your friends," he sneered, the others on the field watching in horror as moved to take a casual seat on the dog's head. "Until you're left with a garden of traumatized statues... With no better use than furniture and decoration." Gh... That...

"Bastard... Bastard!" Ren hissed, hood flaring as the others growled. "No matter what you do we're going to keep kicking your ass! Remember it!" he spat, barely held back by his partner.

"Hn! I'd love to see you try," the blond chuckled in response, narrowing his eyes. "Besides," he continued with a sneer, the smirk on his face growing wide as he looked to the snake below, "I'm almost certain that you'll be alive long enough to show your 'partner' a few more things..." Hn..? Why did he place emphasis on-

The serpent tensed considerably with those words, and as he did so Yugi found himself studying his opponent with narrowed eyes. 'Ren' had already garnered considerable suspicion from himself and for a few moments Jonouchi, not counting Honda's own insistences. After the last battle this had increased, but now...

Just how much did he know? "And just what do you mean by that?" he found himself muttering, pacing back on the stone that his monster brought him to rest upon. "Just what are you trying to do?"

"Well, I'd think it obvious, 'nh'?" Noa asked, 'borrowing' his body's verbal tic and grinning at the foul reaction he received in response. "There are secrets your friends have been hiding from each other... Secrets kept so tightly under-wraps that you've scarcely even noticed. Of course," the blond continued as he shrugged, "To find out what those are, there's only one thing you can do..." He laughed with those words, smoke spiralling around him as his opponent tensed. Cackling filled the air completely, and fog again set in on the field.

The 'one thing'...

"You'll have to beat me!" Noa shouted, a sudden hammer-like object pounding against his form to send him flying to another floating stone far in the distance. "Beat me!" Noa repeated, the mochi hammer slamming against his stomach once again as he gave a still louder shout and broke through the next stone. Another strike, and another and another... "Beat me, beat me, _BEAT ME_! HAHA _HAHAHAAAAA_!"

Stop...

Stop... "Gh- GLN..."

Yugi rolled onto his front as the 'Inaba White Rabbit's mallet finally struck the ground instead of his body, the monster having charged him directly through its effect and vanished the moment he missed. Noa gained lifepoints every time he dealt damage. He gained life every time a monster returned to his hand.

And each time Noa attacked, his life points were halved.

_After_ damage calculation.

"Ngh..."

"Healing wave," a familiar voice muttered, the boy grimacing as he looked up and winced. What...

That voice... "S-Shizuka?" he coughed, attempting to pull himself up to his feet. "What are you..."

"Shhh," she whispered almost panicking, looking to the side with a paranoid swallow. "Noa doesn't know I took this spell yet I don't think," she continued, biting her lip and continuing to hold her hand toward her friend. "So please, Yugi-han; I need you to be quite while I do this, and listen close... I can't heal your lifepoints," Shizuka went on somewhat embarrassedly, "But I can at least do this! You're the one he wants to fight," the girl pressed, Yugi staring with a slight frown as he moved to sit in a less awkward position. "You're the one he's fighting; this is all on you... But that doesn't mean Anzu-chan and I won't help," the mage protested fiercely. "I know you can win," she continued, pulling her brother's friend up almost roughly by the arm as her work was both completed and felt across his body. "So... Are you ready?"

His wounds were gone. Even the damage to his armor, which shouldn't have been possible to repair through a spell, was gone. Yugi stared at the girl for a moment, before looking back toward his opponent as a card appeared within his mind. This one...

"...Of course," he finally said, before a small smirk appeared on his face. They would all fight then. "Are you ready, Shizuka?"

The girl nodded, gripping her spear and looking to the front with a look not at all unlike her brother before a match. "Definitely. ANZU-CHAN!" she shouted out, a loud and almost deafening roar coming over the field as Noa approached them only to freeze in mid air. "NOW!"

"AEOLUS!" came the woman's shout as the angel turned back with wide eyes, Ren growing into a massive and air-embodied serpent as it attempted to restrain the opponent before them.

"Meteor Fusilade!" added Shizuka, the blast of hailstones battering Noa's wings as she charged forward, using the very snake that held the struggling teen in place for her foot holes before jumping back. "Now, Yugi-han!"

"Right!" the boy shouted, pushing forward as the defensive mists around him vanished and the Alpha Warrior flew by his side. "I sacrifice Alpha the Magnet warrior," he announced, throwing his boomerang forward as it glowed with power and 'life' both, "Summoning the Dark Magician girl in weapon mode... And with that," he continued, flipping off stones and through the air as the blades honed in on his opponent. "I attack directly! BLACK BURNING!" he roared, fires coating the 'upgraded' blade.

The next thing he saw as the blade connected was nothing but 'light'...

And what he felt, was a sinking pit in his stomach.


	22. Pause, Reset

There were certain things he needed to get straight after being given his request.

One would be why. Also how.

But mostly why.

The whole 'just kill him please' thing was a little... Suspicious.

Not to mention bizarrely cryptic for all the obvious meaning it held. Also vague.

Ech. "Alrigh'," Katsuya coughed, a few moments of awkward silence having passed as he stared at the woman before him. The blond again resisted the urge to turn away as he stared, pushing the feeling back as he spoke. "...Say again what y' wan' me t' do t' this kid?" he asked nervously, swallowing yet again as he attempted to control his 'fear'.

The ghost as she claimed to be merely stared, a horribly grotesque ruin of a 'face' staring forward with nothing that could be called eyes or even a forehead left upon the neck and skull. There was barely any chin and jaw, next to no bone, if there was any at all...

It was as though her entire face had simply been ripped from it's skull, the jaw blown to nothing and the rest left as collateral damage. Yet despite this horrific condition she was able to speak, the rest of her body greatly contrasting her 'face' as she stood. "You must kill Noa," she repeated plainly, holding out a hand in gesture as she repeated her request. "You must force him to relive that which took him to this place, and kill him." Re-live... Wait.

'Kill him'... Noa was already dead, but if he re-lived... ...Ah... "...Reset," he 'clarified', shaking his head and glancing at the ground a moment in thought. Don't pause the game, don't just _stop_ Noa... But Reset... "You... Y' wan' me t' _reboot_ Noa?"

The woman nodded, a dull yet somehow 'pleasant' breeze passing through in response rather than what would normally have been an approving smile. "Correct. Noa has lost himself," she explained, bowing her head in apparent sadness. "He has forgotten how to feel, and therefore is unable to do so any more. His time without a body has taken its toll. I ask you," she continued, holding out a hand to gesture to the blond before her once again. "What do you feel right now?" Feel..? Uh...

What the hell did she mean by... "Er... C-Confused," he muttered with a frown, scratching his head. "Kinda ticked too, what wi' all these questions an' th' room an all," he added with a slight grumble, "But mostly confused," he finished, "An' why th' hell are y'-"

"Wrong," the woman stated, cutting him off shortly as he frowned. "Again," she asked as the blond blinked a few times. "What do you feel." What!

But he'd already- "I already told y'," he protested, eyes wide as his fists clenched. "Confused! An' as 'f now, screw 'kinda' ticked, I'm startin' t' get royally pissed of-"

"Again, wrong," the ghost responded, cutting her guest off once more. "What do you FEEL?" What did he-

He told her already, he felt con-

...No he didn't.

Katsuya paled, his memories scattering as a cold feeling rushed through his body.

Where was the 'feeling'?

The racing pulse that came with rage, the rising heat, the low rumble in the back of his mind?

Oh god...

Oh god oh god _oh god_...

"Nothin'," he finally said with a swallow, eyes shaking with a horror that was only mimicked by a pre-set program. "I can'... I can' feel..."

He was scared. But not really his mind told him, whispering nasty thoughts in his ear- that was only what he _thought_ he should feel, what his mind was telling him to do. He wasn't really scared, not at all...

How could he be?

He didn't have a body to run away in. He didn't have a body to fill him with adrenaline and anxiety and-

"What..." The blond found himself looking over his arms, dull visions of ones and zeroes filling his vision as he swallowed. Information was filling his mind like he'd never known before, thoughts that he'd never known and didn't want to know, and- "What is... What is this," he whispered in 'horror', "Why can't I-"

"Your body controls your emotions," the woman before him stated plainly, mask inexplicably returned to her face in the time he'd stared at his arms. "It controls the chemicals that induce reactions such as hatred, rage, happiness, despair... It is what allows you to feel, or at least while you are within this realm. But now, you are no longer connected to your body," she told him, the blond growing even paler with the words. He knew that already his mind was telling him, knew that but not because of his 'clairvoyance' the computer could not define, but because of what that same computer was telling him now without him even asking, even wanting- "Your body is no longer your own," the spirit whispered, "And your mind has become that of this realm. This is why I come to you," she continued, ignoring the mental breakdown her guest was experiencing. "This is why I ask for your aid; because you are now the 'God' of this realm, if at least for now." No...

No no no no... He did NOT switch places with Noa, he did NOT lose his body, this stupid electronic voice that wasn't a voice and merely a packet of filed information would stop invading his mind right now, stop affecting his thoughts, stop... Stop...

This couldn't... It just couldn't..!

"You... Yer sayin' I'M th' computer now?" he choked, voice coming out almost hysterically as he shook, the fragmented programming attempting to reel his mind back into a healthy state of controlled emotion lest he destroy himself in his fear-filled realization. "N... No way," he laughed, grabbing his head as he stepped back, seeming to 'smoke' on the spot as he shuddered. "That ain'.. Yer crazy," he protested, fingers digging into his scalp and hair, "Completely crazy!"

"No," the ghost whispered almost snarkingly, despite the lack of any change in emotion other than 'neutral'. "I am dead."

Dead...

As Kastuya swallowed the woman 'floated' close, placing a calming and almost motherly hand on the teen's cheek. "Calm yourself," she whispered, bowing her head as for some reason beyond him he did just that. "You will survive." Survive... Survive of course he'd 'survive' but it wasn't really- "You will live," she pressed, the blond swallowing back another panic attack. "But know that this is what Noa felt in his early times, before the lack of a bond fully deteriorated his memories. He can no longer feel beyond the rage he has honed and embraced," she explained, stepping back somewhat as she brought her hand down to her side. "He has embraced the memories of hate for your two friends completely, leaving behind all others to wither away. You must remind him," the woman continued, looking to him almost oddly from behind the white and shining mask. "You must force him to remember these things," she pushed on, "So that your friends may retrieve their bodies and escape this place." Friends...

And himself of course, his mind told him. It was only logical to think she meant him as well but-

Reset... "Why can't I jus' take my body now?" he whispered, shaking his head and looking to the woman as he frowned. "Wha's wrong w' jus' doin' tha'?"

"You know the answer," the woman responded, her guest's frown deepening with confusion. "Look within your mind; what do you see?" See? Katsuya frowned, turning away somewhat with skepticism. He didn't see jack squat, what was he-

That wasn't true. And he knew it. Information flooded his mind and the blond's eyes widened, Katsuya looking back to the ghost almost in fear. Unlike before where it had been randomized, search engines were firing all pistons available and doing their best to explain, explain to the pulses of his mind, the cluster that made up his current being, explain to him...

That Noa was beyond 'help' at this point. That he was as good as the ghosts you saw in the movies, enraged and beyond control, unable to think properly even with the 'calm' that the computer's programming brought him. To simply take him out now would end everyone's lives, as the boy would simply delete them all in his seemingly tranquil rage. If they theoretically 'reset' him however, that wouldn't happen.

It couldn't happen.

Because he wouldn't be able to think that clearly. Because even the computer wouldn't be enough to let him think clearly, and in that moment it would simply focus on keeping him 'alive'. It was a cruel thing to do. But as the computer reminded him, again and again, it was the only way.

There was no other choice. "...Who... Who are you?" he whispered almost in horror, information continuing to flood his mind even as his thoughts filed them away in databanks and systems just within his reach, as questions and answers arose and resolved and his snapping mind finally locked the flood out from his head to protect himself from the growing headache and damage that was drowning him. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked further, the last scraps of information floating through the cracks in the wall. "I mean... Yer askin' me t' destroy 's mind," Katsuya continued in horror, "So why..."

"You know that already," she responded, gown billowing around her as she moved close. "After all... A mother knows what is best for her son," she stated plainly, his mind unable to be surprised at the words. "Now then," the woman whispered, gesturing behind her as the room seemed to melt into a somewhat more familiar destination, an empty blackness that left the figures standing in a glowing darkness. "Allow me to guide you during your time away from the living..."

* * *

While the light continued to fill the air, a feeling of dread followed along side it, nagging and pulsing more and more with each second. "Is that all you can do?" Noa was snarling, his figure barely visible in the shadows as Ren gave a panicked and pained cry. The snake had literally burst into the wind he was made from, shrinking back to the tiny serpent he'd been moments before as he and Anzu collapsed far at the side, their opponent smirking and laughing the entire time. "Pathetic," he sneered, the fog in the air thickening further around them. "You can't save anyone using this kind of power..." Save...

What was he... A mallet threw him back once again, Yugi giving a strangled cry as the Inaba Rabbit appeared to attack from the fog. His lifepoints remained unchanged as of yet... The rabbit had been summoned but it hadn't attacked, not yet, which meant he still had time before the beatings truly took effect.

"Gh... Activate Trap!” he called out, holding a hand forward as his boomerang returned from the far distance to slice through the rabbit's smoking form. "Dark Renewal! I sacrifice my Big Shield Guardna and your own Inaba White Rabbit to bring back the Dark Magician, weapon mode!" the boy announced, pulling himself to his feet as the second of three bladed propellers on the boomerang changed in colour and form. The Dark Magician Girl's was pale and 'curved', with an almost comforting form...

The Dark Magician's barely changed in colour, all but one of the vicious spikes along the blade's edge smoothing out. He had two monsters so far, and with the spell he'd pulled from his deck... "Next," he began, only for a voice to cut him off.

"Stone Gaze." Shit.

That came from far closer than expected. The boy looked forward in horror as a ray began to charge toward him, the light already mere centimeters from his face. The fog had blocked it from sight... He hadn't been able to see and now that he was frozen in shock he'd managed to doom himsel-! "GH!"

"LOOK OUT!" Yugi's body skidded across the ground as Shizuka stumbled into his place, her feet literally glued to the ground by the stone that had formed across them. It was slow moving, the growth of rock that should have covered his own. Nonetheless it was enough for the girl to already find herself largely unable to move, breathing laboriously as her spear clattered to the ground from her violently quivering hands. "Hah... Hng... Y-Yugi-han," she rasped, chest already coated in stone as he stared in silent horror. "No matter what... Bring my nihan back, alright?" she choked, closing her eyes as pain spread across her arms and froze them in place. "No matter w... t..." Tears dotted her eyes as she gave a final look upward, the stone encasing her eyes to hold them in place. Shizuka...

Shizuka was gone...

Anzu was in worse condition than her partner...

And Noa had set a card, not that he cared as much as he normally would about that. From the other side of the field Ren was tending to his partner and looking over with an almost guilty eye. Staring at the statue as though all that had happened thus far was his own fault despite it quite clearly being out of his hands. Shizuka's statue had frozen part-way through movement, hair 'blowing' in the wind as she struggled to hold her balance. And in some twisted, disgusting show of callousness the body of her brother was laughing under their opponent's control. "Hnhnhnhnhn... HahaHAHA! Such is the misery that comes with 'powerlessness'," he sneered, wings beating at the air as he narrowed his eyes and began to rise higher above them. "A pity really... This would have ended so quickly if she'd just let you be..." This...

"Shizuka," Anzu whispered weakly from the side, before looking upward to mirror her partners scowl and staring at the 'angel'. "You... How could you... Gh!"

As the woman hissed with pain her friend narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on the weapon in his hands as he scowled. "Tch... Don't think that you've escaped," Yugi finished, watching as their friend's body rose higher and higher to the air. "It's my turn now... And I'm going to keep my word! Cast the Dark Magic Ritual!" he announced as he charged, rushing forward to jump from stone to stone in what looked to be a spiralling column rising higher and higher to the air. It was as though it were created simply to allow his opponent an escape; to allow him a further advantage as the rings of stone grew narrower and narrower despite the accompanying rocks far distant from these.

Save them...

He'd save them all even if it killed him, he'd do that much! "Tch... Your field is open!" Yugi spat, an enormous and multi-runed seal appearing in the center of the column as he rose further around it at an un-ending run. "And your healing chain is broken without that rabbit of yours to attack! Now, let me show you my REAL power!" he roared, holding his weapon close as it began to glow with power. "I tribute a monster of equal power to my own," he announced, jumping to the final stone above the seal to face his opponent with a scowl. "And as the winds of change appear in this darkness I ask that this monster RISE! I summon the Magician of Black Chaos!" the boy finished, holding his weapon forth as a torrent of shadows launched from the seals below to change and warp his final blade, "WEAPON MODE! And with a combined attack of seventy-three hundred," he went on, the third blade of his boomerang somehow growing even darker than it had been before, "You don't stand a chance! I attack directly!" Yugi roared, kicking forward from the stone to throw the boomerang at his opponent. "GO! Black Magic... Black Burning... Black Chaos..! HA _AAHHHHH_!"

The blades tore through the air and lined their path with shadows of all kinds amid the fog and wingbeaten sky. Flames from one, for the Dark Magician Girl. Violet, black lightning from another, the Dark Magician, and from the Magician of Chaos an almost frosted feel came forth, ice and vapor stinging the air. And as the blades connected with Noa's body to coat him in the substances, with his friend's body as the stretched out elements wrapped at his skin, an expression of horror could be seen his face...

Before amid the so called screams of pain he grinned.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I lied."

Shit.

The blades hadn't connected yet he realized coldly, the weapon seeming to fold on its own accord. And as Noa's trap was activated two of the blades turned and curled in on each other, throwing them off course amid this 'fold'. They snapped one from from the handle, clashed against each other, until finally the blade representing the Dark Magician Girl was thrown toward him at an impossible to track speed. "Thanks for the added power," his opponent hissed, before a sudden force of flames and power threw him back.

"GH- H _AHG_ -!" Yugi's body slammed against the stone as the single blade skewered him to the stone, remaining shrapnel from the destroyed 'Dark Magician Girl' gouging his limbs as he held back a cry of pain. "Ngggh... Kah! Khk!" Blood...

There was blood in his throat, his mouth, everywhere and he could taste it...

A terrible taste, like copper... "Ngggh... Hah... Hahh..." He couldn't breathe, his heart might as well have been erased from existence with where the blade now sat, and as he continued to struggle with his breath... "Hn... Hng... Gh..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... So naive," Noa sighed, shaking his head with a mocking laugh "Even in this form... That 'lighter half' of yours really rubs off doesn't he?" the teen said with a smirk, landing to the ground as he moved closer to his sufficiently immobilized opponent on the fairly large 'final rock' they stood upon. 'Rubs off'... And just what was that supposed to mean? "Hn! Come on now... Don't look at me like that," his opponent chuckled. "Your power is absolutely astounding," he whispered, the smirk widening as he brushed back a lock of blond hair from his face and moved closer. "In fact... You don't need to use it against me," he offered a dark, unpleasant chill travelling up his spine as a result before the 'angel' turned to face him. "There's no need to ruin this body," Noa hissed, "No reason for me not to 'cope' with something else," the teen continued, far too close to the boy than Yugi found comfortable. "Lend me your power," he whispered, gripping his opponent's chin to force him to look at his eyes. "Fight at my side, I'll release everyone you care for," the blond offered, before glancing to the ground. "Well... That is to say, all but her," he 'warned', Yugi narrowing his eyes. All but...

'Her'. Everyone had turned to stone, all but Anzu and if she knew what was good for her she would be remaining among the statues where Noa couldn't reach her. Noa had 10,000 lifepoints. He had three hundred. And as he stared at Noa he could see a monster being set along with two cards, likely in preparation for a tribute, the glass shimmering behind him despite the fog blocking even the 'sun' from sight. Save them all...

They'd all be saved... "...Everyone?" he repeated almost quietly, before narrowing his eyes. No, he reminded himself, a weak cough shuddering through his body as it hung limp on the blade. Not everyone. "...Why leave Kaiba?" he asked darkly, his opponent merely pressing forward.

"Does it really matter?" the blond whispered, bringing his hand back from the boy's chin. "You hate her anyways and always have; it's fine if we leave her here, and it won't matter when I release everyone else after all... Come on," Noa pressed, his target's eyes quivering as he rolled his mind over the words and what the outcome could possibly be. "Come on... What's one life to save seven?" he hissed, only for a shadow to arise from behind him before the boy could even consider a response.

"Ruin," he could hear his friend snarl dangerously, standing at the far edge of the stone 'field' with her staff pointed forward. Anzu's spell had activated...

But Anzu was not the one speaking now that the spell was cast. He was not the one countering Noa's argument with words he had never expected to hear from this being.

"What is 'one life'?" he asked, fangs dripping with shadows that burned through the stone itself. "HN! It's EVERYTHING!" Ren snarled, massive and shadow covered form rising to the ground 'above' before slithering around his partner to hiss threateningly at his opponent. "Even ONE LIFE is worth it if you can save them all! I might not know much about 'friends'... And as you said," he spat, looking down upon Noa as the 'god' glanced upward almost blankly. "There is much I need to share, so much I've continued to hide! But just as the bond between siblings is a powerful thing," he went on, Anzu apparently ignoring the fact that this was supposedly the soul of an only child, "I'm coming to find 'friendship' as well to be just as powerful in the face of adversity... And no matter what sets people apart!" Ren roared, the serpent shaking his head as the 'flames' of shadow continued to rise, "No matter what divides and forms these bonds, WE ARE STILL THE SAME!" he howled, charging forward and around to throw Noa into a floating cliffside with vicious ease. The blond gave out a strangled shout as he was beaten against the stone, his opponent continuing on with a hiss. "The others would agree... Wouldn't you think?" he seemed to ask his 'friends', Yugi staring in confusion at the snake before him.

"That's right!" Anzu chorused, holding her staff as her familiar arose above the ground and taking a stance from the cliff stone's edge. "I might not like Kaiba... And I don't know if I'll ever be able to completely forgive her for what she's done," the woman admitted, looking to the side with a bit lip. "But that doesn't mean I'll condemn her to the fate you're 'offering'!" she snarled, eyes flashing between her usual blue-brown and a bizarre golden hue. "We're going to keep fighting," the woman continued. "Neh... Yugi?"

Yugi stared, body still hanging limp on the stone. The blade took up most of his torso it seemed... 'Good bye internal organs' that was for certain, with his heart gouged from existence in the resulting 'crossfire'. But as he stared forward, he couldn't think of that, or even the pain that the blade was forcing upon him.

He could only stare at 'Ren', whom he was identifying as Malik more and more... At Anzu, who was completely oblivious to that fact, unable to even comprehend the possibility! But if 'Ren' was 'Malik', that same Malik who had turned friend against friend... Only to now stand with them, fighting along their side with words that he didn't need to say nor was expected to say...

Then perhaps...

Even despite all that happened, they could trust him right now. Perhaps his words were sincere, or at least, that was what his lighter half whispered in the back of his mind. And as he gave a stiff nod, he found those words more than proven... In fact, as their opponent snarled and wiped the blood from his mouth, he almost wished they hadn't been. "Tch... I didn't ask your opinion," Noa hissed, holding a hand forward as he shook his wings free of dust and debris. "Stone Gaze," he snarled, Anzu hurriedly raising her staff with a confident scowl.

"REFLECT," she responded coldly, only to watch the sheet of glass that appeared before her shatter in the attack and allow the distant ray to continued charging. "H-HAH! W-What-!" No...

No, that couldn't- "ANZU!" Yugi shouted, unable to move from his spot as he gripped and pulled at the blade and the stone both. "A... ANZU!" Light was filling the air as the shattered glass merged with the fog, seemingly causing it to glow. He couldn't see her, he couldn't-

"TCH-"

When the light faded from the contact attack, Ren was no longer coated in shadows, or even any other element typical of Anzu's large repertoire of spells. His size was still the same but he was now covered in those same golden scales of his 'default' form, large violet eyes peering down as he curled around his partner in some huge and protective sphere of coils. He wasn't completely stone though, and if anything it had barely affected him.

For now at least. "R-Ren," came Anzu's worried voice, her body scarcely visible between the protective coils, each one seeming to form the bars of a 'cage'. "You... Why did you..!"

"Gh... Hah... The things I do for you," he muttered jokingly, his voice no longer shrouded in the echo of flames or shadows that prevented his voice and that of 'Malik's from being synonymous. There was no one there to notice this however, other than himself. Anzu couldn't remember. The others were made of stone, and it was only his lighter half that was gasping in shock for the moment as the snake attempted to laugh. "Hehehe... HeheHA! You're a real PAIN, you know that?" he spat, the stone rising further as he looked about the comparatively small field. "Ghn..."

"Gh... 'Ren'," Yugi muttered, unwilling to ruin the serpent's last moments by revealing his identity. "You..."

This was 'Malik'. If he wanted a body then his best option was to simply let someone die. So why did he fight for them?

"Hah... It's strange," the snake whispered, partner unable to hear as he lowered his head before Yugi and swallowed back a wave of pain. "I've only spent a few hours, 'days' within my mind, travelling with you. I just wanted to know who you were," he continued, eyes beginning to cloud over with stone despite the curse having barely made it to the middle of his body. "I was just curious... It wasn't supposed to be like this," Malik protested almost regretfully, mouth closing over the broken hilt of the blade holding Yugi in place, "A few days... Should not overpower a number of years, with what I've done," he rasped, eyes narrowing despite their now lack-luster sheen. A number of years...

"Then... You really are him," the boy hissed, drawing back from the stone and his 'former' enemy both only to watch as Malik pulled the blade roughly from his body. "Gh-!"

"I still don't quite trust you all," the snake muttered, looking away to glance at the side. "How can I; I barely know you as it is. But even so, despite the knowledge of my hate for you, despite these feelings I should have," he pressed chokingly, "I can't help but feel connected to these others... So if you don't fix this soon, I'll be haunting your ass, understand, ' _Pr-Ah_ '..? Don't... Screw this... Up... GH..! Ngh..." Malik appeared to shake himself, scarcely able to lift his head back to rest above the remainder of his now stone body. His jaws could barely move now...

The weight of the rock was too much, crushing his lungs, his entire being.

"Gh... An... Zu," he whispered, the woman within the now stone 'cage' holding silent as her partner's voice became audible to her once again. "...I'm sorry... For everything..."

'Everything'..? Anzu merely looked up at where her partner's head lay, swallowing almost nervously. "S-Sorry?" she squeaked in shock, pulling back from the stone as she clutched her staff. "What are you talking about, 'sorry'..!" She hadn't heard Malik's confession...

Hadn't heard him reveal himself... He was apologizing. For the mind control, for the lies, the manipulation, the near death experience she'd had...

"Ren," Anzu cried, a last breath escaping the air as the snakes head finally turned into solid stone. "REN! REN, ANSWER ME! ...REN!" Stone...

He was stone. "Hah... Gh-... Hah..." Yugi stumbled forward to lean against the massive stone snake, blood spilling from his wound as he numbly grabbed his now two-bladed weapon from the ground. "Anzu... He's turned to stone Anzu," he rasped, fingers digging into the scales of the beast as a wave of seemingly renewing blood dripped from his mouth and wounds. "He... He won't answer Anzu... He can't..."

"No... No that didn't happen," the woman muttered, shaking her head from within the cage. "We're... We're 'linked'," she protested almost hysterically, "He said it himself... That couldn't have happened, it couldn't, I-! ...I..!" Both teens looked toward their opponent, Anzu's fingers digging between the cracks in Malik's stone scales as she continued to tense. "...Gh... That boy... That... You're PATHETIC NOA!" she roared, her friend merely clutching his wounds to glare at his opponent intensely. "And you know what... No matter how smart you are, how 'powerful' you call yourself," Anzu continued to rage, "You're just a KID! You're a scared little boy hiding behind other peoples faces with nothing to show for it," she snarled, unable to do much else from her prison as their opponent stared. "YOU HEAR ME? I'LL NEVER FIGHT FOR YOU!"

Noa seemed to smirk at the muffled cries in the stone, shaking his head. "Really?" he chuckled, narrowing his eyes and continuing to stare toward the 'cage'. "I never said I was talking to you," the blond growled. "I'm talking to my 'friend'," he continued as his emotions bounced back to cheer yet again, holding out a hand in gesture to his current opponent. "Yugi... Normal people can't understand this power... But I know you can," he hissed, any convincing and controlling tones flying past their target as he growled in distaste. "So tell me... What's your answer?"

He had to ask..! "My answer?" he hissed questioningly, folding the blades into a single 'sword' as he ran forward and jumped toward his opponent. "What kind of MORON do you take me for?" he snarled, slashing with the blades as his opponent dodged each blow in a calm side-step in the air. "To join with someone who cares only for power?" the boy spat, continuing to attempt his frantic attack as he landed and pushed from the ground again, "WHY WOULD I EVER DO THAT!"

A scratch appeared on Noa's cheek with those words, the blond grabbing the blades and holding them tight as cuts appeared on his hands. His grin had faded. So had any humor in his voice, and as he continued to hold the block his opponent pushed just as hard to cut through it. "Tch... Well... I never called you an idiot now did I?" he asked staring at the boy dully. "Really... How immature. 'Groundbreaking'," he muttered, a wave of smoke coming from far below the ground. "Adding a spirit monster to my hand."

"Card Destruction," Yugi countered, before both teens pushed back against each other to skid along the dirt ground, their hands lost and refreshed of any and all cards. "And now I attack!" he snarled, holding his weapon forward as he pulled at the handles. "Hahhhh... BLACK CHAOS!" he roared, the blades separating into two as he rushed forward with the first. The wave of ice blew off to slice through his opponent's 'shield', the second blade covering itself in electricity and shadows as he ran. "And following that-" Smoke erupted from the attacked sheet of glass, the easily shattered form coating his second blade as it was weighed to the ground to drag the boy to a stop. "Gh-" The monster... It was Otohime! When flip summoned, switch one monster's position... And given the stony appearance of his 'Dark Magician', he could guess who. "Damn it..." The boy ground his teeth as his opponent chuckled, his second set card rising upward as he smirked.

"Hnhnhn... Too bad," he sneered, eyes narrowing in mirth. "Activate Vessel of Illusions," the blond across from him announced, more smoke rising to the air as a a ghostly form in the image of the last destroyed monster came to the field, brushing her hair back before resting in mid-air. "And assuming you're done of course..."

Was there anything else to do! "Tch... Bastard..."

Noa continued to laugh, wings spreading wide as he grinned. "Oh... Don't say that now," he chuckled. "There's still one person left after all..." Wh- That..! "Particularly since it's my turn," the blond hissed, Yugi's blood draining from his face in response. "And you don't want me to remember that..." Still... Still one person...

Oh no. "Anzu!" he shouted, looking to the side with wide eyes as the woman as well paled from within her prison. She couldn't move from in there... She was a sitting duck, she'd- "I-" He wouldn't be able to-

"Oh don't worry," his opponent chuckled, looking to the cage in amusement as both teens before him swallowed. "I think I like this scenario much better... Now your precious Anzu can watch you die after all," he continued, voice far too calm than could be sanely possible in the situation. "She can watch as I tear you to nothing but shreds," Noa hissed, eyes wide and far from mentally sound, fingers twitching in some sort of anticipation. This...

This monster... "I'm going to do the same to you," the boy muttered with wide eyes, his only support for the line being that the body he looked at was not the true body of his friend.

Noa however merely laughed at the threat, watching as his opponent abruptly retched and forced out another wave of blood with a cry of pain. "Hnhnhn... HAHAH! Of course... But you don't have this," he sneered, snapping his fingers as the weighted blade was ripped violently from Yugi's hands and pulled forward. "Change of Heart!" he snarled, taking the Dark Magician into his control and looking to the side as he held it in his grasp. "Tell me, 'Anzu'!" he shouted, glancing to the shadowed prison as he sneered. "Do you have any last words for this boy before I kill him? Perhaps some complaints?" he offered, "Or some curses... You don't know what will happen to you when he dies after all..." There was no answer from within the stone prison, and as Yugi gripped his single blade he found himself looking to the ground in pain.

Silence. She couldn't even speak to him, neither to her opponent or even her friend. Silence...

A rush of flames was appearing before him, forming from a smoke in the air. The blade that Noa had pulled from his grip been tossed into the fires before him, grabbed by a flaming hand as the spirit token's smoke formed an enormous and flaming giant. He knew this monster, somehow he realized, biting his lip as he gripped his last weapon. This monster...

"Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi!" his opponent announced, the monster rushing forward with a snarl, "Equipped with the flaming fist, and held to the field by 'Spiritual Energy Settle Machine'," the teen continued with a laugh, the 'fist' in question merely coating his stolen blade in fire. "Now burn in HELL!" he roared, Yugi throwing his own weapon up in defense only to be knocked back with a shout. "HAH _AHAHAHAA_!"

"GH _RAGH-_ " Blood. He shouldn't have been alive... Blood... He couldn't hear his partner, his lighter half any more...

...So much blood...

"Gh... Ngh..." His last weapon had been destroyed he realized coldly, the 'Dark Magician' that Hino-Kagu had continued to fight with after the sacrifice now pinning him to the stone in a fashion not unlike his Dark Magician Girl had in death. The flaming giant before him was leering down at him with a wicked grin, and with nothing to defend himself this next turn would be his last, the blade in his shoulder burning the skin and muscles around it. He was about to lose... Anzu would remain trapped in a cage while her friends held silent and cold company, and-

"REFLECT!" a strong voice called out, the flames their opponent sent forward rebounding on the monster. Yugi's eyes flung open as he turned to the sound, staring in disbelief as the fires blew both 'Kagu-Tsuchi' and his summoner far across the field. That voice...

Anzu's voice, with the woman standing before him now and staring forward with wide and determined eyes. Anzu... At the last moment, she'd escaped. In the moment between 10,000 life points and 100 she'd escaped... "Anzu," he whispered, unable to move with the blade in his chest and shoulder. "You..."

"Take a break alright?" she told him, smiling softly as she looked back to the boy almost sadly. "This isn't over yet... Because I believe in you," she continued seriously, pointing her staff forward and looking back to their opponent. "No matter what! I'll never lose faith in Yugi!" Anzu roared, running forward and hopping the flaming giant with ease to take aim at the 'angel' before them. "HAIL STORM!"

"Tch!" Noa hurriedly took to the skies as his 'second' opponent landed to the ground, a blast of snow and ice narrowly grazing his wings before it fell to the ground in a shattered white rain around her. "So you escaped did you?" he snarled, pointing his hand forward as flames rushed toward Anzu from his monster. "Fine! I'd thought of simply waiting for you to change your mind," the teen continued, his monster easily proving enough of a distraction for the woman below, "But enough is enough! STONE GAZE!" he roared, Anzu turning just as that shout came through the air. "NOW DISAPPEAR!" No...

NO! "ANZU!" the boy screamed, both Noa and his monster laughing as the pinned boy stared. The light had connected with her brow and acted immediately, and as the stone traveled there was nothing he could do. Nothing but shout...

And stare.

"ANZU!" She was frozen in fear, just as all the others were once the light had faded and the stone had set. Just as those below them were, and as Kaiba and Mokuba were on the ground far beneath those cliff-like rocks. He couldn't move he lamented mentally, fingers weakly pulling at the blade in his chest as he bowed his head. He was too weak...

And he couldn't move... "There's only one left," Noa taunted darkly, the twisted form of his friend's voice only serving to further push him into despair. "Only one mortal piece of scum before my sights... Perhaps it's time to die," he whispered, alighting to the ground and watching his monster step forward to attack.

Die...

He was going to die he thought to himself, dull eyes staring to the ground as his hands finally fell from the blade pinning him to the stone. He'd failed the others, failed everyone... He hadn't even taken his turn yet, an action that was now the only thing standing between him and death. Or at least, it was all that stood between himself and a quick one. He was too weak to take his turn... He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He had no monsters on the field or in his hand to fight with. He had no cards in his hand to spare him, and his friends were gone, frozen in a permanent casing of rock. He...

He...

The boy bit his lip, shaking somewhat as he continued to look to the ground. Was that really it, he asked himself. Was he going to lose here... After all the trust they'd put in him?

_Not quite_ , he thought he heard someone say, the boy closing his eyes over as he slowly succumbed to weakness. But he couldn't have heard someone... His lighter half had seemingly been locked off long ago, and the idea of anyone else being here...

" _Hnhnhn... Come now 'Pharaoh',_ " an oddly familiar voice muttered as his vision faded, his senses growing dull and his body falling limp. " _We BOTH know you're better than that..._ " Both...

Both... "Hah!" Yugi's eyes flung open as breath met his lungs, the scent of stale and musty tomb air coming through his body. His wounds had vanished completely, and his senses had been returned in entirety. And as to where he was... "Hah... Hah... ...Hah..." This place...

An endless maze rising upward and growing larger with halls twisted in on themselves like a macabre labyrinth, filled with monsters that shifted in the shadow's recesses and traps for those who dared to trespass. A darkened prison of muddled memories that he had long since given up on making sense of, long since given up on attempting to decipher in the darkness of his 'tomb'. The shadows had lessened as time went on of course, he thought to himself, stepping forward somewhat as he looked around the room of his soul. His time with his other half, and with everyone else had helped considerably in that matter...

It was thanks to them that light filled the bottom reaches of his tomb, and that it was now at last slowly making its way upward. ' _You've gotten better,_ ' Yugi told him once, the pair having taken an 'in soul visit' to the lighter one's own childlike room. ' _You're more trusting now, I think. That's why there's more light here._ ' Yes... More light.

A whole lot of good that had gotten him in now though, when a good strong 'penalty game' was exactly what he wanted to do to his opponent. " _On the contrary,_ " the voice said with an almost snarking tone from behind the soul room's owner, " _It's helped me considerably._ " Gh-

The boy tensed, hairs standing on end as his eyes widened. That... That voice! Was that even possible, after what had happened on-

Yugi turned to address the expected spirit, only to frown and draw back as he was met with a form of nothing but white. A form that he failed to recognize completely, and a form that caused him to stare in confusion and silence both. There were no features on the spirit's body to define much more than slight masculinity. There was no mouth from which to speak, and no hair unless the 'flames' that made its body could be considered as such, not that they resembled it at all. So no; this was not who he'd thought. But it was nonetheless someone he knew he realized coldly. Someone to whom he'd spoken with before. Someone who had a few questions to answer.

"...You... You were in Jonouchi's mind," the boy hissed, eyes widening further with realization. Just who-

The ghost merely rolled its eyes, crossing his arms. " _Very true,_ " he chuckled almost darkly. " _And now,_ " the ghost continued, " _I'm not. And here I thought Merea's powers of observation were 'impressive',_ " he snorted, the boy across from him narrowing his eyes with an annoyed rage.

"You... Just what are you doing in my soul?" he hissed, clenching his fists as he took a slight step back. "What am _I_ doing here?" he pressed further, idly noting that the clothing he wore was neither the attire he'd put on for Battle City nor the armor from the game he'd been trapped. "I was in a duel moments before," Yugi muttered darkly. "So why am I-"

" _You were being an idiot,_ " the spirit said rather plainly, as though the statement answered all that he needed to know. " _But that's beside the point; come now... Over here,_ " he clarified with a gesture to the side. " _It took a good deal of energy to bring you all here, and I'd rather not waste time._ " Hn! Well if he was going to complain about it then- ...Hold on...

All..? Yugi frowned at the statement, nonetheless following after the ghost as it turned away and walked toward a door at the side. Just a simple door at the side of one of the halls... Wooden, not like the stone and cloth he continuously found from the front of his memories. A door with a name-plate not unlike the one at 'his' house in fact, at his lighter half's room. A name-plate that had only recently gained a humorous 'nii' at the end, with the excuse that it was a play on 'ni-ko'. It was just a door...

But walking inside he was met with a warm breeze and a group of smiling faces, proving it to be far more than simply that. "Ah... Other me!" the lighter Yugi cried, running forward to pull his second half into a tight embrace before moving back with a grin. "Hah! You're still alive!" And...

And so were they, he thought in shocked relief. So were... "We were worried when Anzu mentioned the last move," Honda muttered, the boys before him walking further into the room as the Other Yugi looked around in wide eyed curiosity. "We couldn't be sure if you would... Well..."

" _Die,_ " a childish voice finished, a strange and completely golden shade at the side crossing his arms.

"M... Ren," the other Yugi muttered, narrowing his eyes in confusion as he looked to the 'flame' that formed a small and child-sized ghost. So he was here as well then... But... "How..." He shook himself off, looking around him in silence and confusion as he took in the sights of everyone. White kimono, each one covering their hands and feet... Otogi even had a headband of sorts to match. All clothing aside however, not to mention ambient glow, there were other matters to deal with. "...What is this room?" he finally asked after a moment, the two 'spirits' standing to the side as the boy's friends gathered somewhat in the center. "I... I've never seen this one..."

The others smiled somewhat at that, the shortest of the group looking to his partner with a slight grin. "It's a new room," 'light' Yugi answered, the boy's eyes wide with calm and comfort as his other self stared. "I know that we haven't found any of your old memories," he went on, looking to the side somewhat awkwardly. "But that doesn't mean we can't give you new ones to call your own right?" Ah...

A room for his new memories..? "That's right," Otogi said with a smirk, unknowingly answering the silent question at the same time. "No matter what, we're all here... Not to say we know how of course," he added with a nervous cough, rubbing the back of his head. "All I know is that my vision had gone black... And suddenly, this guy appeared," the teen finished, gesturing to where the white ghost merely 'smirked' from the sides.

"He saved our lives," Honda added, swallowing somewhat uncomfortably as he continuously stared at the 'right over left' style of the kimono he wore. "But... We don't know who he is..."

The ghost continued to smirk, shaking his head as he gave an answer. " _All you need to know is that I'm connected to your illustrious 'Jonouchi Katsuya',_ " he told them with crossed arms, the mouthless smirk widening into a grin. " _Just because Merea's body has been taken and his mind 'disconnected',_ " the spirit went on almost plainly, " _Does not mean I can't stick my nose in Noa's plans. Like I told you,_ " he explained almost smugly. " _It was hard, but no 'computer' can defeat a spirit such as myself._ " What... This thing had done...

What, exactly? "Yugi-han," Shizuka said after these words, the boy looking back as the girl smiled and pulled him from his confused thoughts. "We just want you to know that we're all here, alright," she told him, the boy blinking as she continued on. "All of us," she repeated, almost appearing to place emphasis on the words. "We're all cheering for you..!" Cheering...

"But..." But that didn't mean anything... That... "But I don't have any cards," he whispered, shaking his head as he frowned. "There's nothing I can do," the boy protested, "I-"

"THAT," a familiar voice growled, Yugi tensing as a 'shadow' rose behind him, "Had better not be a surrender I hear..." That voice... That was...

...Kaiba. Yugi turned, eyes wide as the woman stood behind him with a thick scowl. She looked 'different' again it seemed, compared to normal. Everyone in the room was wearing a kimono of sorts, white and almost ghost-like in appearance after all. But in Kaiba's case it seemed all the more noticeable... Though that could have simply been due to the fact that she was, for once, wearing a woman's kimono. (Or even a kimono period.) Her brother stood at her side as well for the moment, an expression of determination similar to that of his sister's on his face. And like the others he as well was dressed in the white fabrics, the right side inexplicably folded over the left rather than the reverse. "...Kaiba," he muttered, the others staring in silence as the glare intensified.

"Hey, Yugi," Mokuba said with a frown, crossing his arms as he looked to the few-inches taller boy. "Answer her question- are you really thinking of giving up," he asked threateningly, "When Katsuya-nii is out there? When all of us are counting on you?" When they were all... Counting on...

Ahhhhhhh- That didn't help! The boy bit his lip as guilt rose, and in response the woman standing before him snorted. "Tch... Honestly... You must be losing your touch," Kaiba hissed, arms crossed over her front as she looked down at the boy. "Did you forget," she muttered darkly, "Exactly whose deck you're using..?" Whose deck..? His and hers, that was eas- "Those cards come from my soul and yours as well," Kaiba muttered, eyes narrowing as an odd expression came over her face. "And this isn't the time to give in," she whispered, the room seeming to fill with an odd energy in response. "Our chance still rests in the cards... So don't just believe in your deck," she continued warningly, the energy increasing as the room and the others both began to fade from sight. "Believe in mine... And remember that you're not the only one fighting!" Kaiba called out, a sudden darkness coating Yugi's eyes as he was flung back out from the soul room. "There's one more person there... So tell that MUTT to get his head cleared!" M-

Jonouchi. That was right...

Jonouchi was still there right, he thought to himself as he began to awaken. _Always there_ , his mind corrected after a moment, as though a voice had whispered it in his mind. Always.

And in another realm, his friend began his next attack.


	23. Reset, Reverse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains a scene involving suicidal manipulation- rather, manipulation to invoke suicide. For those who wish to skip this scene, move from the page break following Yugi's approach toward Noa and begin reading at 'You'll never escape'.

'Being' a computer was taking a bit to get used to. In all honesty getting used to it would probably be bad, if not worse than _not_ though, so as much a pain in the ass as it was to do all this without the proper knowledge he was holding that 'wall' he'd somehow erected in his 'head' for as long as he could. Noa wasn't completely in his body after all. Just connected, tied in such a way that he would be able to sap from the nerves and emotional twists with the added bonus of a quick getaway if required. And since his body could only take one mind to link up with nerves and things, he ended up knocked off into cyberspace as a result.

Or at least that was what 'Rota', apparently Noa's dead mom, had told him now. 'Rota', who had not once been asked for her name, and had simply been identified by the last clear thought he pulled before erecting that wall.

...

...This had been so much easier when all he was worried about was a homicidal Egyptian with a 'staff' of immeasurable power on an airship.

Katsuya sighed as the screens of light hovered around him, biting his lip and returning to his current task of moving them about and doing 'whatever' with them. Supposedly this was something his head found familiar enough to work with, these glowing panels of light. Something that would let him do what it was Rota was asking of him.

A 'something' that he wasn't completely sure he _shouldn't_ be feeling sick about. Fingers flew across floating panels as though guided by an unseen force. In a way they probably were- guided by a 'force' he meant. Rota and the two programs told him they'd do their best to make this quick to keep him from succumbing to the same fate Noa had. Keep him from becoming too 'aware' to pass the point of no return.

But time had already slowed for him.

What were mere seconds mind had become hours and years for him, and it was with that knowledge in mind, the knowledge that this and being unable to truly feel fearful about this was not normal, that kept him moving. That made him finally reach out into those well buried files beyond the wall and beyond all of Noa's own great 'walls' and pull them up to begin the connection to Noa's own mind. A knowledge that had his thoughts tracing over them as he did so...

As he bit his lip and bowed his head, knowing exactly what he was about to do.

All of Noa's earliest memories were in this file. Born as the only son to the Kaiba family, to Rota of Germany and Gozaburo of Japan, with a life that was decided effectively from birth. The classic story of the spoiled rich kid.

And Noa, unlike Seto, had loved to learn. To study, read, write... His classes went far beyond his parents expectations and quite likely as a result his life was both charmed and cursed. The most elite of university level professors, of tutors in music, arts, horseback riding...

He thought he saw Kuma for a moment, the horse nickering and nibbling at his rider's hair.

And even with all the lessons, all the multitudes of things that he had to occupy his time, he still had plenty to sleep, plenty to eat, and plenty to spare. It was as though... Everything Seto had gone through was a cruel joke. All these happy memories, times spent in Germany with relatives from Rota's side, times spent in Japan with his father on cruises, hikes, even just the occasional class he walked in on...

Because Noa was a 'perfect' child, intelligent beyond their wildest dreams, which meant that when it came to Noa, he would never want for anything. You couldn't say that life had been a 'game' for Noa. Life had simply been life, lived in cheer even when his only friends were tutors and a single group of little girls with their brother at a church. A church the girls didn't even want to come to- hardly friends, or at least that had been Noa's opinion.

So Life hadn't drawn any strange metaphorical definitions. It had simply been something to enjoy.

And when the car sped through the light and slammed him across the intersection that life had come to an abrupt end... Almost, at least.

It was as Hobson had said those months before. He'd been barely alive, with his last 'meals' nothing more than nutrients in a tube, with his body beaten to a pulp and darkened almost black by the bruising on his skin. His organs were destroyed, his bones were crushed...

' _FIX HIM_ ,' Gozaburo was crying, the man's voice filled with a desperate rage as he looked into the room he'd been locked out of. ' _SAVE HIM!_ '

But as the doctors shank back under the imposing man's shouts they could only say ' _We CAN'T!_ ' He was in the hands of the gods now. He was beyond repair...

And it would be best to unplug the cord, and alleviate his suffering.

But Gozaburo had other plans and as he watched the scene he wondered if Noa had perhaps been a ghost, like Rota, for that time. Simply watching, crying... Unable to speak to his family, unable to understand what was going on...

Gozaburo took Noa to a low level, highly enclosed room beneath the depths of the sea, connected to the base 'Alcatraz' by naught but a single emergency exit. There was an immense computer there, something that would have changed the field of technology forever, something that already ran the systems at an incredible pace... Something that could have revolutionized the entire world.

Had Gozaburo not done what he did now at least.

Wires were connected to the boy's skull, the boy whose body was floating in a vat of odd coloured fluid to prevent his form from decay and death both. Electric pulses and synapses travelled into a programmed device and the body was soon done with, the life passing from it completely.

They had the funeral that weekend.

And that was where everything went down hill.

On the field Noa was feeling the effects of his transfer, watching the funeral through the horror filled eyes of a ghost and a security camera both. He was beginning to feel frightened. Scared. Feel the full effects of being tied to a body once more. And there was more to come, he told himself with a frown.

Far more.

"WHUA!"

Noa woke up with a jolt that first 'day' of his new life, illusionary eyes wide and his so-called breathing haggard as he stared up at the ceiling above his bed. "Gha... Hah... Hah... Hah... ah..." The boy, just barely thirteen, pulled himself out of the bed in confusion as he stared at his hands, watching them quiver and shake with his still present unease.

He'd been hit by a car hadn't he, he asked himself. Struck down violently on his way to that store with his father, where they were going to get that puppy. Run across the road, left for dead, unable to move as he succumbed to a numb and sleep-like state...

Only to wake up now.

"H-Hah... It... It was just a dream," he laughed, rubbing his head. There were no bruises after all, no broken bones and bleeding organs. Just his clean, healthy, and uninjured body. "It was just a dream..." The clock at the side said that it was already noon. Noa had stared at the clock and frowned, before moving to the door. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" he asked himself, grabbing the handle. He was supposed to be woken up at eight am sharp, so why...

The handle had jammed in the door.

"What's going on?" he'd asked quietly when the door didn't open, only to jiggle the handle and freeze. The door was locked. This wasn't just the handle jamming.

It was locked.

"...What... H-HEY! HEY , WHO DID THIS!" th boy shouted, pulling at the door before kicking it in an attempt to gain attention to his plight. "SOMEONE, HEY!"

"Noa," a voice called out, a somewhat forced calm in his tones. The pulling had stopped at that moment, Noa turning from the door as the computer screen on his desk flicked on. His father's face, tight with some unknown emotion could be seen...

But why? Why would he speak through a web-cam program when he was still in the same house? These thoughts were pushed from mind as he stared, the events of his 'nightmare' coming to mind as he swallowed. "D... Dad," he whispered, running over to the screen as a cold feeling continued to rise in his chest. "Dad, why is my door locked?" the boy asked, staring in confusion. "Why..." He shook himself, putting on a slight smile.

It didn't matter 'why' right? His father was there...

His father would help him, there was no doubt! "Hah... Dad," he pressed, eyes wide, "Get me out of here! Someone's locked me in my room, and-"

"I can't do that," his father said with a swallow, a slight wince on his face as he watched the boy before him. Can't...

He couldn't...

Something was wrong, Noa's mind had told him. Something was very wrong, very very wrong. His father wouldn't say these things, not without a reason, not without-

"...What do you mean you 'can't'?" he whispered, tears beginning to develop in his fear as he pushed back somewhat from the screen. "Dad... Daddy, let me out of here," he begged, shaking his head as the tears began to fall. "Let me out!"

"Noa, I need you to listen carefully," the man told him, bowing his head somewhat as his son broke down before him. It was the look one had when they were telling someone a family member had died, or even a pet. It was never something you were supposed to see after yours though, or at least that was Katsuya's opinion.

An opinion softly whispered into Noa's ears as the boy found himself overcome with emotion, and as he gripped his head and screamed from within his stolen mind.

"Your body is dead," Gozaburo stated almost bluntly, though the tone had in fact attempted slight comfort through the words. "There was an accident... You can never leave this place," he continued, as though not completely sure as to how to explain the situation. But what was this place Noa had asked, the computer screen becoming a wall of 'windows' to reveal the room behind his father, allowing the two a clearer view of the other. What was it..?

...It was a computer.

"I've loaded your mind into this world," Gozaburo had told him. "You can live on, even if I can never touch you again," the man whispered, fingers momentarily brushing against the screen before he quickly steeled his emotions. "No matter what you are always my son, remember that," he told him, a small puppy appearing at his son's side in an attempt to offer comfort. "Always..."

Always...

Noa had broken down with those words, and in the virtual world of present time he'd curled in on himself in his own pocket realm, holding his head. Curled in and shouted to his opponent in rage, defending himself and calling a monster to his aid as he regained...

Or at least _attempted_ to regain his composure.

_I'm sorry_ , he thought to himself, digging through the files even as Noa recalled the moment after, the moment he'd noticed the dog at his side, to calm himself and push forward in attack. He was so sorry...

But while it was good that he had a little comfort from that moment... He couldn't let that happen.

As Noa had said the world was small, fragile, something he pushed through in memory as a reminder. Though there was no limit to where he wanted to go, to what he wanted to see, he could never hold a conversation with those in that realm.

' _It's nice today, isn't it?_ ' he asked the ice-cream saleswoman, not caring any more that the weather was 'always' nice, and that it was always sunny and never once snowy, rainy, or any other variant of season.

The woman had simply repeated her request for 'Noa-sama's order.

_The world wasn't real_ a nasty voice now whispered in Noa's ear, despite the source telling himself that he should be horrified with what he was doing. _It was never real_ he pressed, and the insanity began to sink in. The sun was always shining and the rain would never fall. Throw a stone at the dog and it simply continued to wag its tail, barking barking barking with cheer as everyone around said ' _good-morning, Noa-sama_ ' and the summer heat continued to push down because how else will you be able to eat your ice cream and swim whenever you like?

So he experimented.

He broke the barriers of his mind and experimented. He reached out, past the fail-safes of his programming, past the codes, past everything, everything that left him so en-trapped...

And after he'd bored himself with trying to fix his own world he desperately reached for the one he'd left behind.

"Kaa-chan," he'd whispered, voice filtering through a phone in his mother's house many weeks after his upload. His mother had thought she was hearing things. And then she'd picked up the phone, slowly, hesitantly... "Kaa-chan," he whispered through the speaker, unable to see his mother's face. "Talk to me... I'm still alive!" the boy 'shouted', distorted somewhat by the inexperienced bursts of data used to transfer his message, "Talk to me!"

The phone had dropped to the ground.

His mother had screamed and fled, but he kept trying, voice warbling through the speakers as she cried.

"Talk to me!" he shouted, trying time and time again in the days and weeks that followed. "Talk to me!" His mother held her hands over her ears, unable to escape. Held her mouth shut, unable to believe. "Talk to me," he cried, begging for her to listen. "I'm still alive, talk to me!"

She didn't want to believe her son was a 'program'.

That her son had been denied the eternal rest she'd prayed for him to receive.

That her son was simply a 'ghost', haunting a machine through her husband's very will.

And finally, Noa had found a way. As Rota fled to her relatives, fled for a summer of rest after the results from her doctor's testing the horror and diagnosis of her so called growing 'condition', and as she avoided every scrap of technology he'd found a way.

While the woman was out, he'd turned on the video phone in her room. The phone that she'd hidden away beneath piles of things, the phone that she had only left in there because of the fact that there had been no cord, no source of power, no reason to shy away from the device. The phone she did not realize was wirelessly connected to the power and internet in the growing changes of the era.

So Rota returned, having barely started to recover...

And as she came into the room, so did he.

The phone flickered and crackled to some form of life and within seconds his face had appeared on the 'window' that sat there. "Kaa-chan!” he shouted eagerly, unable to wait to see his mother again as he grinned. "Over here!" he shouted as the woman approached in horror, "Move the things away from the screen! I want to see you..!"

She'd taken one look at the screen after carefully and fearfully removing the piles covering it...

And turned it off.

_But you could still see, couldn't you?_ he told the boy, already kicking himself in the head for being such a prick despite his mind trying to explain that it was the 'logical' thing to do.

Man... Rota was right. This thing was really good at desensitizing a guy...

Hell, he was starting to feel like the Other Yugi when it came to matters involving the difference between Ancient Egyptian law and Modern law. Even thinking these things when a woman had just shot herself, the woman whose ghost stood behind him had just shot herself, and done so with her 'dead' son watching from a blank screen and her husband from the doorway...

...Well. That wasn't natural.

Showing Noa his mother's death again was only the first step though. Only the first step into a mental hell for the boy. After that incident, he'd completely fallen off the deep end.

Gozaburo never told him his mother died.

Never even told him that his mother had miscarried, something that the boy had inadvertently caused. He simply took in a pair of children and offered the boy a deal. Simply told him that in two years time, the eldest of the children he'd adopted would be ready to use as a vessel.

But he was running out of time now.

He had to send these memories in a way that a human mind could comprehend, think over and ponder despite all that was happening. He was skipping scenes, following Rota's path, shipping off memories as quick as possible without paying attention to what he saw now...

There was just one more thing he told himself.

One more memory that would throw Noa into such despair that it would shake him completely and reset the system. Just one more thing to do...

But at that moment, something else slipped through the wall, and the screens revealed the battle field he'd been keeping track of. Revealed his friend, his best friend, pinned to stone by a blade as blood stained his face. As his body twitched almost lifelessly and as a flaming giant began to walk forward. The memory was playing at the side, the one that would lead to Noa's 'shatter'. Gozaburo had just been told Noa's 'plan'... His knowledge of just how quickly the world could be destroyed, with one word alone...

' _It sounds interesting,_ ' Gozaburo had said, clearly disturbed by what his son had become. ' _But we'll talk later...'_ All he had to do was send him that memory, that was all.

Send him the memory of the camera feeds to the buildings he'd followed his father through, the feeds from that one day...

But as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's fist and blade came toward his friend he clicked the screens off, the battle he witnessed coming into view through a 'window' as it slowed to a near stop. "...What are you doing?" Rota asked, the ghost coming forward with a whisper that seemed almost malicious in intent. "Why did you freeze the timing?" Why did he freeze it?

That was obvious wasn't it? "...'M sorry Rota," he muttered with a swallow, fading out in a shower of 'pixels' as the scene vanished from behind for the field before him to grow and clear. "I know tha' this 's th' only chance... But there's somethin' I gotta do."

Because friends were always there for their friends after all. And he was Yugi's friend, his 'best friend', making the statement doubly important.

So naturally, as shadows rose from the bottom of Yugi's feet to form a shield, he was more than present.

* * *

He didn't know why the attack hadn't hit him yet.

He didn't know why he hadn't died before he could draw his next card, or why the air seemed to thicken somehow. Why the heat from the monster before him had vanished, and why the blade in his side was now gone. All he knew was that he hadn't died yet, and that a shadow had just risen from his feet to block the monster's punch with that very blade in its formless grip.

"Hah... Hah..."

He could feel his wounds healing he realized after a short moment of panic, the blade the shadow before him held now crumbling into dust. He could feel his energy returning, and he didn't know why. He didn't...

_'M righ' here_ ,' a voice whispered, sending a cold chill down Yugi's spine as something appeared in his hands, as the shadows at his feet curled and swam about his feet and the air. A single red eye could be seen... Before disappearing and re-appearing at some other position, as though the being couldn't control its own form. _'Don' worry Yugi... I'm righ' here..._ ' That voice...

It couldn't be him though, could it? Yugi swallowed as the shadows evaporated with those words, both his opponent and his opponent's monster staring at the blank space in shock. His wounds were gone, all of them, not even leaving a speck of blood behind. His armor had been repaired, and his boomerang sat on his back where it could normally be found. And there was something in his hands... Something flat, something...

A card. ' _Look at 'm_ ,' Jonouchi was whispering, and from where he couldn't tell. His voice seemed different somehow beyond the echo however. Stiffer, colder, and almost 'soulless'. Nonetheless he found himself looking toward his opponent, and listening as his friend spoke. ' _Can't y' see... He ain' as strong as y' think,_ ' he was whispering reassuringly, his friend's eyes narrowing somewhat as he looked toward the stolen body. ' _He's scared 'f y'... B'cause he knows you c'n win. He knows there's still a chance..._ ' Still a chance...

He had one card, and his body was healed completely...

"...There's still a chance," he found himself saying calmly, the card vanishing into his menu as he looked forward and nodded. "There's always a chance, Noa... Because I have something to protect!" he shouted, his opponent seeming to stare at the boy in minor amusement from where the shadows had forced him to back away to. "My friends... My partners... I play the Card of Sanctity!" he announced, arms spread wide as the spell took effect. Discarding their entire hand, something that affected only his opponent...

And giving them both six more in exchange, putting him in the lead once more.

He could hear everyone's whispers... The voices of his friends as a series of cards appeared in his mind, one for each complete soul that resided within his mind... And an extra to sit within the graveyard.

' _Take it_ ,' they whispered, the air growing thicker and thicker with the emotions of a battle. ' _Take it... Our cards!_ ' they shouted, vanishing from his mind, ' _Our souls..! We'll fight with you, just don't give up!_ '

Noa was breaking, that much was obvious. Behind a seemingly smug grin was a faltering look of fear and despair, confusion thick within the air from where he stood. His eyes were wide, crazed, unstable... Staring forward with manic rage, as though searching for the source of whatever he was going through, with his monster fading into flamed rings on his fingers to take a weapon's form.

He wasn't the only one fighting. Nor were those who the 'ghost' had pulled within the recesses of his mind.

Jonouchi was here, and always had been.

And as a shadow seemed to hover behind him his opponent continued to pale. "That look... What's with that look?" Noa was growling, abruptly holding his head as he stepped back and attempted to breathe properly. "What do you think you're doing!"

"I'm taking my turn," the boy stated flatly, narrowing his eyes in rage. "The first card!" he shouted, 'Ren' coming to mind in addition to a face he'd never seen on Malik's own, an honest smile that spoke of more than the 'Namu' mask while the blond Egyptian gave him a curt and oddly trusting nod. "MONSTER REBORN! I bring back the beast that Kaiba staked her very life upon," Yugi roared, a white mist growing beneath him as a dragon arose from the smoke. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

White scales glowed and blue-eyes shone in the dull and fog covered light, seemingly radiating their own as he held his balance on the enormous dragon's head. ' _Don't screw this up_ ,' he thought he heard Kaiba say, using the same flat and almost warning tone she held when no one was 'looking'. Don't worry, he responded.

He wouldn't. "Noa," Yugi called down, his opponent's wings spread wide behind him as he grit his teeth. "I'm not done yet... This is the last turn, and just as Kaiba wasted no time in her battle neither will I! I activate the spell polymerization!" he shouted out, Anzu appearing in the back of his mind as she smiled. Noa was preparing to head for the skies...

But Anzu was ready. ' _Good luck_ ,' she was whispering, eyes shining with determination. _'You can do this!_ ' The spell had already begun to spiral about him, and it was only now that he was finishing with his words. "I take the two Blue-Eyes from my hands to merge with the third," Yugi announced almost coldly, hands held out before him. "SUMMONING BLUE EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON!"

With a howling roar he could see two other ghostly figures, remembering all too well the spirits who had handed him these cards. Shizuka took the dragon to the right, the monster diving into the vortex behind him with a snarl after appearing in a blinding glow. Mokuba took the one on the left, the beast snarling as it became dust from the ground that it had only just appeared from. And from atop the dragon he could see the body change, shifting beneath his very feet. Scales grew sharp and more metallic in appearance, becoming marked with strange runic symbols...

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon gained two other heads, and grew fiercer still in form as the snarls came forth from each somewhat elongated maw. "B-Blue-Eyes," Noa muttered with a swallow, each of the heads taking aim as he took to the skies in an attempt to flee the still growing dragon. "This monster..."

Honda's turn he told himself, the teen giving him a salute of sorts in his mind as the next card vanished from the menu. "QUICK ATTACK!" he announced, the next card activating as white flames and lightning developed in each dragon's mouth at an alarmingly fast pace. "Now..." Since the fusion monster could now strike at this moment... "ULTIMATE BURST!"

He could literally hear the flames as they were released, a strong 'hissing' sound striking the air. Noa made no sound despite the powerful blow to his life points however, even as the flaming rings on his hands vanished completely, and if anything the only change was that his sanity was far less present than his mask implied. "You..." Fear flashed again. Horror, terror, despair...

And then it vanished.

"Hahh... Hah... Even with this... You don't stand a chance next turn!" he laughed almost hysterically, the enormous dragon staring him down with each of its heads in displeasure. "I still have more life points... I'll still win!" he laughed madly, eyes widening even further. Tch...

"Did I say my turn was over?" he asked dangerously, Noa's face falling completely as another 'spell' appeared in the air. Otogi's card he thought to himself, the teen in question giving a nod as he spun a pair of dice in his hands. It was his turn, and it was the last card. "I cast the spell De-Fusion!" he snarled, each neck pulling from the dragon's body to split into its own form as wings and limbs grew into separate monsters. "You have no chances any more... You went too far," the boy hissed, Noa's fear and absolute fragility staring back at him from Jonouchi's face as the trio of Blue-Eyes snarled from above. "You played with our hearts, and our promises... And now, using each of their powers I'm taking you out now. The spirits of my friends, along with all of my own power- I'm attacking with all of it! GO, BLUE EYES!" he ordered, blinding light filling the air as the dragons fired their attacks directly toward their wide eyed opponent. "BURST STREAM!"

"GROO _OOOOOOOOO_!"

"G-GHHRAA _AAAAAAAHHHHH_!"

The three beams of light converged on Noa's form to fill the a with so much light it was impossible to even see. His screams continued to echo about the field- never dying, never faltering... And when the light faded they were on the ground once more, despite him never having felt himself move.

The statues that lined the sides were crumbling, falling to dust on human forms behind and around him. Honda shook himself off, looking around in confusion after his falling paw swiped at air and caused him to stumble. Otogi finished with falling on the ground, before Shizuka helped him up with a weak smile and handed him the daggers he'd dropped to his sides. Ren, now at his original size, was effectively being smothered and strangled by his 'partner', creating a fairly odd image in his own mind as the snake was fussed over. And more importantly, even further back behind him...

"NEE-SAMA!" Mokuba pushed forward from where he'd been frozen, their healed bodies now perfectly able to withstand the force of a hug. "Nee-sama," he cried, his sister pushing out from the crater to come within reach.

"Hng..! Ngg..." Seto pulled her brother close, and whatever she said to her brother he could not hear from where he was looking back. All he knew was that she wasn't going to be letting go, not for a while.

" _The ghost is gone now, I think,_ " his lighter half told him in the meantime, Yugi turning back and walking toward where Noa's battered form had fallen in Jonouchi's body. " _I'm keeping an eye out,_ " the spirit continued from within their mind, " _But I can't find him anywhere..._ " So he was gone was he then?

Well, he thought with a slight nod, that was probably for the best. While he had questions after all, he'd much rather not have too many people in his soul at once.

The sky was going dark now- darker than before at least. Yugi however remained silent and largely uncaring in that regard as he walked forward, the wings of the 'Shinato' robes falling to the ground at his opponent's feet. The clothes were changing... Or were they? It seemed more that the person in the clothes was changing, almost shrinking. All around them the ruined stones were beginning to fall from the air, striking the ground with no pattern to be seen and forcing the others to run for cover in the geysers of dust.

Coming closer to Noa however and ignoring the falling ruin around them, it became more than apparent that he had been right to assume the clothes had undergone no change. "It's not real," Noa was muttering, holding his head as he cried in a childish copy of a younger Jonouchi, eight-year-old hands digging into his skull. "It's not real, it's never been real, never," he continued to whisper through his tears, clinging to blond hair that was by far not his own.

Not real... This boy.

...He was completely broken wasn't he, he asked himself, eyes narrowing in confusion. Yugi stopped a few feet away from the weeping boy, the storm around them continuing to rage as he looked down upon him.

" _What's wrong with him?_ " his light half whispered, looking through the memory of his sights with horror as Noa continued to cry. " _What's happening..?_ " That...

Was a very good question.

* * *

Sorry about this he thought to himself yet again, bowing his head and silently cursing as he stood behind Noa. Stood behind a copy of his own form at that age, a weeping and almost completely shattered version of the one who had trapped them here.

He was invisible to the others, completely invisible, and almost completely connected to his 'victim's mind. No one could see what he was doing to this boy. No one could see what was truly causing their tormentor's misery. Rota stood by his side with her hands in a sleeve of sorts, and as they stood there they watched the final bout of deterioration.

He hadn't surpassed Kaiba, Noa was telling himself through his tears, resembling little more than a robed 'ball' with a tuft of blond hair. And he'd also lost to Yugi, who had taken up Kaiba's will and fought both to and from the very brink of death. _'I've always been alone,_ ' he whispered to himself, crying as the words were placed on his tongue. ' _Always... Always..._ '

"But it's not real," he hissed, Katsuya grinding his teeth as a repeat of the boy's most despairing memories were forced through the again child-sized boy's mind. "It's not real, it's never been real, it's never been real..!"

Noa was holding his head as his 'last clothes' appeared on his body to switch intermittently with the deckmaster robes in static like flashes, tears streaming down his face with the constant reminder that it had been _he_ who killed his unborn sibling, _he_ who killed his mother, _HE_ who ran out into the road that day when his father had shouted..!

_Stop_.

Yugi was simply staring right now. His eyes were caught between rage and pity, as though wondering whether or not the vengeance would even be worth it on such a mess. As though to ponder whether even justice had moments to sit on the fence, or if this was even just a ploy.

But the boy continued to cry. "Gh... Gnggg..." And cry... And cry... ...And cry... "Ghhaaaa... Uaaaaaaaa..."

He didn't like doing this he told himself with a grimace, teeth grinding in his jaw as he looked forward and pulled all the memories he held that were necessary to make his judgment. Breaking this kid down like this...

It was sick. Disgusting.

He didn't _want_ to do this!

"It is him or your friends," Rota reminded, a small click coming through the air as Yugi continued to stare down at the boy. "There is no other choice." Was there? Really, he thought, the realm seeming to dissolve somewhat as they stood there. Noa had only just now noticed the teen standing before him. And while the others likely couldn't tell as well, Katsuya knew just how much effort it was taking the boy to squash back his emotions in an attempt to remain strong.

The key word being 'attempt'.

"Gh... Don't look at me like that," Noa muttered, his former opponent merely staring at the boy in silence. His gaze did not shift one bit as he looked, and as the pair held their gazes. Yugi with confused and somewhat loathing eyes, Noa with a quivering stare mixed with fear and rage both. "You... I said don't LOOK AT ME!" the boy screamed, dust flying around the realm as he cried and curled in on himself once more. "I... Hate this world," he wept, Yugi's stare narrowing in confusion as the realm seemed to vanish and take him with it. "I hate it!" he cried as white encompassed him completely, "I hate... I..."

"This is it," Rota whispered, another click meeting the air as Katsuya stared at the pitiful boy, remaining silent as the three were left 'alone'. White filled the scene in the same way the room he'd stood in before did. Noa was now hunched over across from him, the boy continuing to cry with mixed rage and misery as the ghostly woman between the boys walked toward her son. "It's time..." Time...

To die.

A car crash was playing through the realm, a screaming, honking horn and the squealing of brakes. A car was tearing through and against his body again and again _and again and again_. Memory after memory, injury after injury, horror after horror and not once taking a break to consider the momentary happiness in between.

' _This will save your friends,_ ' he was told, the blond standing there and watching as Rota seemed to place her arms around Noa in an embrace. This...

Katsuya's eyes widened as he looked to Rota's hands, the woman now sitting behind her son and holding him close. "Look," she told him, something black slowly placed in his grasp as the click entered the air again. "We're going home..." A gun. She was holding...

A voice was running through his mind, like some strange 'left-behind' of someone's thoughts.

_'I don't want to die_ ,' he thought he heard, the boy before him stopping his tears only briefly. "K... Kaa-chan?" he asked hesitantly, attempting to turn but being unable to do so. "Is that..."

"That's right," the woman whispered in response, her son's hands folding over the handle and trigger. "Calm down now... We're going home..." Home...

But what was 'home', and how...

' _This isn't right,_ ' the voice was whispering fearfully.' _I don't want to die..._ '

"Just pull the trigger," Rota was whispering.

"Kaa-chan," Noa was repeating, _'I don't..._ '

Cold realization dawned on Katsuya, his eyes slowly widening as the voices muddled around before him and merged into one revealing and dreadfully important thing. Wait.

Wait... If the 'nerves' were needed for emotions, then wouldn't that mean...

"Just pull it," the mother whispered, "And it'll all be over..."

"But... Kaa-chan..."

...Son of a bitch...

_'But what will happen to_ my _body?_ '

He was still connected to the body.

And when the brain thought it died it _died_.

With a panicked shout the blond ran forward, grabbing the ghost's shoulder and ripping her off to the side as the gun was flung from Noa's child-like hands. "Gh- This ain' right!" he shouted, pulling her back as the ghost gave a screeching wail and evaporated into dust. "This isn' righ'..! I'll find another way t' get us outta here!" the blond snarled, a porcelain mask clattering to the ground, "But I'm not killin' 'm twice... An' y' sure as hell ain't killin' ME!"

"Wait," Noa muttered from the side at that, his eyes appearing to clear. "I'm... Dead?"

And with a jolt he was back where he 'started', floating amid his connection to the boy as the white scattered. Invisible on the field, with Noa staring into Yugi's eyes as he shook in fear and horror.

_Not enough_ , Rota's fading presence sneered, the mask scattering into a chalk-like dust. _Now you'll never escape... It wasn't enough_..!

Noa's fear filled eyes shifted to a calculating rage as he continued to stare at the boy before him, and with a snarl he charged forward. "Gh..! Looking at me like that... I'll take your body instead!" he roared, 'spirit' fading into Yugi's body as he stumbled back in shock and surprise both. "I'LL COME BACK TO LIFE AND YOU CAN STAY HERE AND DIE! YOU WON'T KILL ME YET!"

"G-GHH-!"

"SHIT!" Katsuya roared as he was dragged along, his mind being forced in through the body as his friend stumbled. "Shit... SHIT-!"

Memories were playing again but this time they were not Noa's. They were not Yugi's, and they were not his. He was outside... He could see pods, machines, cables strewn across every panel in sight, as though from the point of view of a camera elsewhere in the room. He could see the 'computer', an enormous sphere, the screen simply 'white' with power as Noa continued his rage...

And then could see Egypt.

He could see stone cliffs surrounding a village, soldiers approaching in the far distance as they were lead by a man in robes...

"Where is this?" Noa whispered in fear, shadowed and foreign mutterings meeting their ears before the screams began. "Where is this... Where..." Where?

They were in his head.

And that was never good.

" _I would LEAVE, if I were you,_ " a voice hissed, white hand thrown forward with a growl as the desert abruptly exploded into memory, the final sight being a single blade thrust through an attacking soldier's middle. " _RIGHT NOW._ "

And not a moment too soon! "H-HAHH- GKH! GH AH!" With a resulting explosion the three were separated, falling back on their feet in shock. Yugi was still standing, eyes somewhat wide as he brought a hand to his chest and struggled to breathe. Noa had been blasted back across the ground where he eventually sat up to look himself over with some unknown horror, body again that of his own despite the age matching what he had merely died as.

He himself on the other hand skidded to the side, choking as he attempted to stand and support himself with his returned staff. "Gh... Kah-hk..." Noa was clutching his arms close... As though afraid he would lose himself again, afraid he would never wake up, never 'live' ever again. "Hah... Hah..." Heh...

Take that 'Rota', he thought mentally, stepping forward as the boy flinched away.

Reset complete! Erm...

...Sorry about that though he thought to himself, the figurative boot in his mouth being spat out as he grimaced. He could 'feel' again he realized with that thought. There was no more computer jargon floating through his head, telling him 'logical' reactions, telling him how to 'act'. Just his brain, and his own free will. And as he walked over it seemed that Noa was far from realizing that he no longer had a body to leech from, the boy looking to the two and swallowing as he shuddered.

"Gh... Ngh... Who are you," Noa was whispering, pulling back in fear as Yugi and Katsuya both stared. "Who..! _What_ are you!"

For a moment, it looked as though the conversation could have gone anywhere from that point. The others were coming from behind now, ready to voice their own 'opinions'. Seto was livid, hell _more_ than livid for one, and the others did not seem much different in their approach. Honda was certainly not casting away his over-sized 'cerberus' form... Nor was Ren too ready to do anything other than attack, the serpent coiled loosely around his partner's arm as the woman tightened her grip on her staff.

But as the clearly broken little boy watched them approach a voice sounded overhead, pulling them from their thoughts and stopping them cold.

"I'm disappointed in you Noa," a gruff and almost familiar sounding man growled through the air, Noa himself tensing with the words. "You've failed me again..." That voice...

No.

A face appeared in the clouds, coloured by the shadows and winds in the air with eyes illuminated only by the lightning. The winds swirled constantly, his face shifting with the wind... But it was more than obvious who was speaking and as they looked forward they found themselves stepping back in terror and horror both.

"Impossible," Seto hissed, looking up with wide and almost fear-filled eyes as wind battered against their bodies. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

And yet as the clouded face grew above them there was no doubt about it. Gozaburo Kaiba was staring them down- and no matter what they said or did, leaving his place was about to get a hell of a lot more difficult.

No one wasn't looking by now.

Even the 'demon's son was staring, his oversized robes still draped over his form. "But... You're dead," Noa was whispering in horror, having turned to look up at the face with an expression that almost made the boy appear half his apparent age. "You died," he wept with a quivering tone, "I saw..."

" _Saw_?!" Mokuba hissed with a horrified swallow, Seto as well gritting her teeth as she held her gaze upward. Rumbling was filling the air, the sounds of thunder and laughter merging together into one twisted roar. Attentions were no longer focused on Noa, no longer focused on the child that remained from their twisted and calculating captor, on the mere fragment of being that remained.

Gozaburo was laughing... And Katsuya was more than remembering his 'former' fear of ghosts.

"Hnhnhn... HAH _AHAHAHA_! True, you killed me," he sneered, evidently more than willing to admit this fact. "But did you really think I would let that lie? My body may have been burned to ashes but my ghost lives on!" the monstrous shade roared, Seto clenching her fists and taking a slight step backwards as the cackling thundered around them. "You can't kill me now... NOT AGAIN..." Hah...

But... "Gh... But Nee-sama didn't even-"

The boy was cut off as Seto growled, arms locked stiffly at her sides as the storming winds blew past her still largely bare legs. "Really... Persistence is one thing," she spat, forcing a look of stone across her face. "But coming from the grave is an entirely separate matter!" Hahhhhh, she said it like she believed it...

Not to say he didn't but that was kind of new coming from her... And...

Noa's look of fear had changed now he noted, the boy swallowing nervously as he pulled himself up. His face had forced a grin over his features, and stumbling forward on his legs he sounded almost like he would cry. "Gh... All this time... You were here all this time?" he asked, looking up with desperate eyes as he subconsciously gripped the robes around him. "Dad... Daddy... I've waited so long," he cried, breathing rapidly in his excitement and looking up to the clouds with shining eyes. "I've waited so long, just to-"

"Don't speak," the man growled, Noa's face falling as thundering eyes turned to him in rage from far above. "Looking at me with such a pathetic smile... You've failed me already Noa," he continued darkly, appearing absolutely giant to the boy below him. "I've no reason to speak with _you_ anymore..."

As Noa's look fell even further, the boy lowering his head in despair, it took all he could not to wince. 'Normal' Noa would have covered his misery up immediately. Possibly even banished his own father in his rage, deciding that he was better off that way anyways.

But he'd broken that Noa.

The 'fake' Noa that had been part lonely little boy and part machine, created from an inability to survive knowing he was neither living nor dead. 'Reset', she'd told him.

'Kill him'.

And while admittedly it was nice to not be stuck dealing with a 'God'-obsessed maniac, the fact that she'd tried to kill _him_ to do it was still bugging him. A lot.

More than what he'd done to get the kid to that point perhaps.

Not quite as much as Gozaburo was disturbing him though. Oh... Definitely not as much as Gozaburo was, he decided after a moment.

"Cut the crap!" Seto was growling to the man, quite beyond caring about the 'dead' knowing her secret to say the least. "Ghost or not, I'm done with this 'GAME' of yours!" she snarled, taking a step forward as she continued to look to the clouds. "Tell us now Gozaburo... Just what are your intentions?"

More chuckling came through the air, and amid the clouds a menacing sneer. "Hnhnhnhnhn... 'Game'? You never changed, did you?" he laughed, narrowing his eyes as the 'mood' swiftly shifted. "Nothing but games on your prideful little mind... You want to know what happened?" the man snarled, sparking eyes wide with apparent rage. "VERY WELL! You know it was I who brought Noa to this world... That he was expected to live on and surpass me," he explained darkly, "To live on so that I could see him at least once more... But this world is FAKE! " Gozaburo spat, thunder cracking through the air with the shout. "And you've seen what that does to a human being... Within mere days the gap between morals is irreparable, and what was my son was no longer human..."

"No longer... But what do you mean?" begged Noa, tears running down his face as he looked to the man he had so strived to live for. "What do you mean 'Not Human'! I just wanted to please you... I just wanted... I only wanted..."

Gozaburo merely ignored the boy, and again Katsuya winced as their captor shrank further into an uncontrolled despair. "How old were you Seto, when I adopted you?" the man asked plainly, his 'daughter' seeming to narrow her eyes and ponder the option of not answering.

"...Ten," she stated after a quick moment of silence, evidently deciding against it. "Or close enough to it," the woman added with narrowed eyes.

That was right Katsuya thought for a moment. They'd been adopted over the late summer of some year, so she'd turned ten while at the Kaiba mansion...

The clouds in the sky seemed to nod, eyes briefly closing over as lightning continued to pulse across the ghost's face. "That's right... And your brother was 5... Now why did I adopt you?" he continued, seeming to sneer as the crowd below narrowed their eyes.

"Why?" Honda repeated from the side with a mutter, looking down at the woman with a frown as he growled. "But I thought Kaiba used a chessmatch-aru; it was a bet, there was no other-"

Before the dog could finish Seto again answered, her eyes narrowed even further with displeasure. "It was a 'challenge'," she said almost plainly, those beside her tilting their heads in confusion. "Surpass me in all ways and return to the world in my body. If he fails, he remains here," she continued, only for her slight frown to deepen further as chuckling rumbled through the air.

"Hnhnhnhn... HnhnH _AHAHA_! A 'challenge'... HAHA _HAHAHA_!"

Alright, stop fucking laughing before he-

The man's howls filled the sky, before a mocking snarl came over his face. "Oh no... There was no 'challenge' involved," Gozaburo sneered, both Noa and Seto looking up with wide and incredulous eyes. "Far from it... It was simply a matter of timing," he chuckled, blood draining from Seto's face and the faces of the others as the message came to their minds in that instant. "My son was thirteen after all... Once you reached that point, that fatal moment," the man explained as he cackled, "His mind would be moved into your body no matter what. THAT was why I took you in!" he snarled, "And THAT is the real reason why you 'EXIST'! " Gh... "And it is for NO OTHER REASON that I allowed your 'CHEAT' to slip by!"

He knew he'd known. The knowledge came with everything else after all.

He knew but...

"T-That... Just because they looked similar?" Shizuka muttered, swallowing in unease as the others looked up in horror. "You took them in just because she resembled..."

"That... No sane person things of that kind of thing when they adopt a child!" Anzu roared, subconsciously pulling Ren close as the snake gasped for air. "You... You're not human!" she continued with teary eyes, "You're a MONSTER..!"

"Hah... And they ask why she hates him," the snake added, shaking his head and just about biting down on his own tongue. "My life might be twisted, but that comes a little too close in itself!"

Very close, a small voice in the back of his mind muttered, if the hieroglyphs on Ren's back and the scars they could faintly see through Seto's damp shirt had anything in common. Dangerously close. And above them the ghost continued to rage. Continued to storm and darken the sky, scowling on the one who had supposedly 'killed' him.

"I was so CLOSE," he hissed, narrowing his blazing eyes. "So close... But in the end, when I had decided at the last moment to do away with this plan and raise you in his place you turned on me! You killed me!" he spat, the clouds forming his body seeming to flare as a ghostly rage filled the air, "YOU _KILLED_ ME! But not this time!" he roared as he shook his head. "Not this time, and not any time... Even if I have to live through a machine, or your very BODY," the shade snarled, a visible but nonetheless slight shudder passing over those below, "I will LIVE!"

"But why..." The others had to turn at that, frowning somewhat as Noa asked this question in an almost childish fashion, the tears still running down his face. "Why... Why are you abandoning me..."

Again, Katsuya's mind added on with a grimace, having a nasty feeling that the boy was doing the same. Why was he abandoning him _again_? The answer...

Was not the same this time though. If anything, it was quite the opposite.

"Things have changed," Gozaburo muttered, the clouds forming his face seemingly growing in size so loom above threateningly. "You have your 'sister' to blame for that!" he spat, Seto momentarily tensing at the term. "Hate her , kill her ... Do anything you want, I don't need _any_ of you to fulfill my goal! Anything in this world is accessible," the man roared, lightning licking the sides of the clouds that formed his being. "Anything I desire!"

"Tch. And just what do you hope to accomplish without a body?" Seto spat, sending a fairly dark look toward the clouds.

"Take a look for yourself," the man responded, the scenery vanishing as they found themselves abruptly floating in space, the ground simply dropping as darkness filled the air.

"H-HAH!"

"ERF! Not fun!" Honda barked, his head coming to level with all those around him. "Not fun-aru!"

"Gh- What..." Space.

They were hovering in space, nothing but blackness around them and the sensation of some sort of light from behind. "Nee-sama," Mokuba shouted abruptly, pointing toward a large machine in the distance on his side. "That device... It looks almost like the company's satellites!"

The others turned to where Mokuba was pointing, staring at the large machine in question as the image of the enormous and silence inducing earth came from before it. Turrets seemed to be mounted at all sides. An enormous system of missile launchers and radars, identical to a second one that could be seen as a mere spec in the distance. These things...

Each pointed at the great and cloud covered planet below, the sun blazing in the distance as they stared. "Satellite 32-B," Noa muttered almost robotically, Seto's eyes narrowing further as they looked to the device. Alright. He wasn't one for codes but...

"That's an old model," Seto hissed, face curling in distaste as the woman shook. "From before I took over the company..." Before? But that would mean...

"That's right," Gozaburo sneered, voice echoing around them as the satellites below seemed to flicker to life. "Besides housing its own system of long range missiles," the 'demon' explained coldly, "This computer is connected to each and every remaining form of weapons system ever commissioned by this company. And each system has taken aim at the major cities of this world, along with any and all densely populated areas..." Alright, given how many cities and areas there were, there was no way that he-

...Wait...

Thirty days, Katsuya remembered coldly. Thirty days of constant fire...

"These devices are all armed and loaded... Ready to strike the moment I need to," Gozaburo finished darkly, the satellite at the side beginning a count-down of sorts. "Ready to re-load and continue their strike..."

The missiles fired.

Clouds could be seen parting from the earth in the path of each strike, as enormous and seemingly impossible reactions were formed by the countless attacks. One... Two...

Fire after fire after fire was made and soon enough nothing but ash covered each site, nothing remaining of the world below them as it became completely encased with smoke.

"You... No... You're going to kill everyone," Noa shouted almost incredulously, a look of horror on his face as he looked back to his father's 'voice'. "You'll kill... EVERYONE!"

"But of course," his father chuckled, the ravaged earth left with scarcely anything to call a population before them as the clouds slowly but eventually cleared. "It was your idea after all..."

"M-My..." That was right.

He'd said it himself, in his fight against Seto; within thirty days, the world would be reduced to three percent the population it had before and as Noa realized this the blond behind him swallowed in unease. Three percent...

He'd gleaned that number from Noa's memories. As to the exact number, he couldn't even comprehend that sort of thing.

He knew that it was nothing compared to the former number though, given that '25'% was only about a quarter of whatever the original number would be.

"This is bullshit," Seto was muttering, looking up slowly with narrowed eyes as the 'voice' continued to rumble. "Complete BULLSHIT!" she snarled.

"Oh don't worry," the man stated darkly. "You won't be affected by all of this... You don't even need to worry about bodies!" he laughed, those below tensing even further. "Not when you remain here in this world! There is NO ESCAPE!" Gozaburo snarled, the world around them abruptly vanishing as they dropped to a solid and cave like ground, stones rising around them as the earth and space were replaced with a cold sky. "None whatsoever ... This world is yours to do with whatever you wish while I take the real one as my own! No more pain, sorrow, hunger ... Consider this a 'present' Noa!" he roared with a cackle, clouded face appearing in the sky above their cave entrance with a demonic and snarling grin, "Now you have friends to live forever with! ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN!" Gh...

This bastard... This! "GOZABURO!" Seto roared, rushing forward as the clouds whirled above them. "YOU-"

Whatever Seto said next was drowned out by the thunder and lightning that followed Gozaburo's leave, the sky quickly fading into a nearly blinding sunny sky as the woman was forced to flinch and turn away. Her words however were easy to guess. After all...

What else could you possibly think to say in this situation other than anything close to a curse?


	24. Epiphanic Purgatory

For a few moments in the stormy rainless sky of the virtual world Seto seemed to simply stand where she had been for the last number of minutes, clenching her fists and shaking with rage. Most of the others were taking shelter in the mouth of the cave, staring at the woman's bowed head. Watching as rain slowly began to fall from the again clouding sky, first as a light drizzle and soon as a torrent of constant water to continue to soak the already skin-tight clothing and cause it to stick translucently to her form.

But rather than moving, be it to get out of the cold or even just to make some effort to hide now clearly visible scars across her back, she simply stood there. Waiting in silence as the others attempted to speak with Noa and leave the girl to her silent rage.

Noa hadn't said anything since Gozaburo's disappearance either. But despite the fact that they would ordinarily have never cared, he was likely their only way out. Their only hope, their only escape from Gozaburo's haunting and evidently still existent eye...

And it was curled in on himself in silence, with tears running down his face.

"...Noa?" Anzu asked hesitantly, a few of the others keeping an eye on Seto as she continued to stand out in the rain. "Noa," the woman repeated, reaching out with a hand only for the boy to flinch away in apparent fear. Anzu bit her lip, tilting her head somewhat before speaking once more. "...Are you alright?" Probably not, if he was honest.

"This is so wrong-aru," Honda muttered from the side, watching as the woman tried and failed to get the boy to speak. The dog had 'shrunk down' for the sake of space, now resembling the strange miniature black dog despite it 'standing' on his haunches. "How is this the same guy we were fighting before-aru? He's... Completely..." Silent. Terrified.

Hell, 'broken' was probably a more gentle term now.

Otogi shrugged from where he sat beside the small dog, shaking his head. "I don't know... I mean, I know he was _nuts_ during that fight but..." The teen fell silent, looking off to the side where Katsuya was rubbing his head.

The blond had been doing this the entire time. Out of guilt, out of worry, out of just about any emotion that he again had running through his body and-

"...Jonouchi?" the teen asked with a frown, snapping his friend from his thoughts. "You alright?"

The others more or less turned to silently repeat the question with their eyes, the 'Other Yugi' as well staring from the body he still held control over. Everyone was staring...

Mokuba, Shizuka... Even Ren. "...'M fine," he eventually said, staring at the ground as he turned away awkwardly. "I jus'... ...When he had my body, I wasn' even in it any more... ...'S a scary feelin'," he muttered, crossing his arms.

If it could have been called a feeling...

Katsuya shook his head, only just able to turn back to the others as he continued to speak. "Horrible feelin'... Couldn' feel anythin', couldn' think prop'rly... An' I..." The blond's eyes drifted over Noa, and as he stared the others followed the awkward gaze in an almost fearful curiosity. "...All I could think 'f was gettin' my body back," he muttered, eyes dimming as he leaned back against the cavern stone. "...An' abou' th' quickest way t' do it..."

"Then... You think _you_ did this?" Yugi asked almost bluntly, looking to his friend with what looked to be concern.

The teen's response was the continued stare toward Noa, not even bothering to look away when Seto finally started to move back inside. She, it seemed, had gotten over whatever thoughts she had needed to clear up.

And after all, this wasn't the time to sit around. They had limited time, for themselves and those outside, even without considering the 'shadow games' involved.

They had to move. And as Katsuya told himself this he began to walk toward Noa, those near the boy tensing as the blond held his almost dead stare. "Ah- Nihan," Shizuka warned, frowning somewhat as she reached out to grab at her brother's arm. "Nihan... You aren't going to do anything ri-"

"I won't," he said quickly, stooping down to the boy's level and watching as Noa cringed and pulled back. "...'Do anythin',' I mean..."

The others seemed to take this answer as enough of a defense, going back to their silent staring as they watched Seto continue toward the cave. "He won't say anything," Anzu told him worriedly, gaze growing more and more depressed as she looked from her friend to the boy. "I've tried everything but all he does is curl up tighter... I know something's wrong," she continued, the serpent on her arm seeming to lay on her arm in a similar mood, "But to fix it..."

"You won't be able to fix something like this," Ren said somewhat quietly. The two turned as the snake stared, an almost distant look in his eyes. "Something like this... I don't know _what_ you did," he added to the blond at the side, his own eyes almost narrowed in anger if anything, "But whatever it was, it's serious..."

Katsuya grimaced at that, turning away somewhat while the others moved to 'greet', or at least be glared at, by a returning and drenched Seto. The woman looked far less than pleased, and...

"...I know," he told the snake, looking back to Noa as he opted to momentarily ignore the woman behind him. "But... I gotta try an' snap 'm outta this too righ'?" he continued with a swallow. "Even if it's jus' t' get outta here..."

Even if just to leave the kid behind for history to repeat itself...

...Damn it, even without being a computer he was a prick!

In that moment Shizuka seemed to tense, as though having suddenly realized something important. She came over, frowning somewhat and looking toward the boy before her while she stood behind her brother. "...Nihan," she whispered, the others following her with their eyes as Noa looked up and stared almost curiously despite still obvious fear. "...Nihan, when you were... ...Doing what you did," she asked awkwardly, shaking her head. "What did you..." The girl trailed off, swallowing as her brother bowed his head.

Memories. He saw memories, but he didn't want to share that with them, not these ones. Getting run over by a taxi was a particularly strong one that had been used, and...

And each time the details changed he thought to himself, rubbing his head with a grimace. The driver became clear. The screaming passengers became clear, the horrified faces as they realized what had happened...

The two passersby on the sidewalk, who had remained for little more than a split second as the sirens entered the air became clear and-

Katsuya shook himself as the details continued to rush into his mind, before tensing as he looked at the hands he'd been holding his head in.

Noa was still staring. Looking over each of them, his eyes drifting to and from each person in some strange and twisted curiosity as his fear increased. That wasn't the problem right now though. These hands...

"What th' hell," Katsuya muttered hoarsely, voice slowly raising in pitch as he stood to his feet and stumbled back against his sister. "What is-"

"Not real," the boy before them whispered, pulling back with wide eyes as he began to laugh. Um... What..! "Which means... He's not dead!" he continued, a crazed smile coming on his face as he stood up and laughed. "Dad... He's not dead... Mom's not dead... I'm not... I'm not dead!" he cried, the others continuing to tense and shudder as they looked over their own altering forms. "I'm not dead!" Noa continued to laugh, "I'm not, I'm NOT!" he cried, those around him momentarily staring at the crazed child in fear. "I'm... Not... I'm... Hehehe... Hnhn... I'm..."

"Oh my god," Shizuka whispered, now childish hands covering her mouth as those around had their own varied reactions to what was happening. She was in that skirt again, with the t-shirt and ribbon, her hair almost the same style as it was almost ten years from the fact and- "I was _there_ ," she cried, hurriedly holding her arms close as she stumbled back. "I was there!" she repeated in horror, "We were both..!"

On the side walk.

Almost nine years ago, on the sidewalk as they walked to the beach Katsuya realized coldly as the boy before them continued to laugh. But they were just kids, just... Kids. Exactly like...

"What is this!?" Anzu shouted with a slight tinge of fear, looking over the sundress and years younger form she was in, her hair seeming to lengthen slightly as it was pulled up into pigtails against her will. "What-!"

Yugi's hair looked almost normal at the shortened length it was. Honda's dog-form had shrunk down to some brown puppy with an almost simplistic design, Mokuba was almost infantile...

"Now... Now we match," Noa was laughing, tears running down his wide eyed and grinning face as the others looked over the forms they'd held nine years ago. If the boy had even seemed slightly collected beforehand then the facade had long since broken by this point, and as his clothes shifted to the very outfit he had died in he continued to wail hysterically. "Now we can... We can all be friends," he was crying, the grin resembling a broken cheshire cat's smile. "I finally have friends! We can stay here forever and ever and ever and ever and _ever and ever and-_ "

"HHHHAAA _AAHH_!" A high-pitched and enraged scream tore the air, the three children standing by Noa forced to the side as a young girl in capris tore past to slam her hand on the boy's throat. Her hair was shoulder length, with a band of sorts behind her ears to hold it out of her eyes. The shirt was just a spaghetti strapped tank-top typical for the summer wear, easily matching the sandals on her feet. The eyes on the other hand...

Revealed everything.

"Change us back NOW!" Seto snarled, pinning the boy to the wall and bringing back another fist to prepare an enraged punch. "Change us BACK!" the girl continued, all others staring almost incredulously as the boy continued to laugh.

"N-Nee-sama," a much younger voice protested, the now toddler-sized form of Seto's brother stumbling forward in oversized shorts as he attempted to grab the girl's arm. "Nee-sama, don't! Leave him alo-"

"Wait, that's KAIBA!?" Honda protested with a short bark, still in the form of the puppy he'd been since his body vanished. The dog continued to stare, mouth hanging partially open in shock. "But how- I mean, I've seen you before, I... I..!"

Seto continued to hold her 'brother' against the wall, eyes wide with rage as the nearly unrecognizable girl snarled. Yet there was no response.

No response at all. "Hahaha... Haha _hahaha..._ " Laughing.

He was still laughing, laughing, endlessly and manically as he stared off.

"I don't need to follow my daddy to the real world," the boy rambled through his tears, "I don't need to at all, we can all stay here, stay here and be friends and live forever and play forever..." Let's... Not...

Please...

"It's not that bad!" Noa shouted with crazed cheer, the boy dropped to the ground like a scum covered rag as Seto stepped back in disgust and shock both. "It's not bad at all... You get used to it after a while," he continued, moving jerkily and puppet like toward his 'friends' as the others stepped back. "And I won't be bad, just please don't leave!" the boy begged, tripping forward in his desperation, "Please don't leave, don't leave, _don't leave_ ," he wailed, "I promise I won't tell him you're alive just don't leave me, don't leave don't leave dontleave _dontleavedont-_ " Noa's words continued to blur as he reached out with a hand, shaking and wavering before the crowd as they stared in horror. What did they do...

What did they do, nothing they said was-

_-crack!_

The rambling cut off the moment Seto's fist connected with the boy's face, the now 'tallest' member of the group staring at the girl in shock as the others choked. "Cut the crap!" she snarled, Noa holding a hand to his face in shock from where he'd fallen back to the ground. "So you're DEAD," the girl sneered callously, "Well LIVE with it! You aren't going to damn us all just because you're too weak to accept the facts and move on! Even if I have to kill you again to get that message across," she went on, cracking her knuckles, and stepping forward with another growl, "I will do so with ease..."

"N-Nee-sama..!" The girl turned with narrowed eyes, her brother grabbing her arm from behind and below with a frown. "Nee-sama!" he continued to protest, almost dangling from the limb as he pouted, "Don't... Don't hurt him, he's just a kid..!"

"Believe me," Seto quickly responded, looking back in rage, "This is no _child_ -"

"It hurts..." The crowd froze, looking to where Noa was now simply staring at the cavern ceiling, laying on his back as he cried. "...It hurts..." ...Hurts...

Katsuya swallowed, stepping back somewhat with narrowed eyes. Now what was he talking about this-

"Why did he leave me?" Noa whispered, Honda tentatively walking over in far more puppy-like form while a now 'hieroglyphless' Ren did the same. "Why did he leave me again..?" The boy rolled over somewhat to curl in on himself, Ren tilting his head as he frowned while the dog beside him 'poked' the boy's side. "...Am I useless now?" he cried, wringing his hands as tears continued to fall. "Does... Does he not love me anymore..? Does he..."

"...Noa," Mokuba whispered, walking over despite his sister's protests and the slight 'stumble' his feet kept forcing on him. "Noa... Gozaburo isn't the man you knew... He isn't even the one _I_ knew," he pressed, giving a slight shudder as he looked down at the boy to explain a fact he had thought impossible. "But you need to stop thinking like this... He was using you," he pressed, standing over the boy's side with a wide-eyed frown. "And he wasn't doing anything else! Gozaburo isn't someone you should be trying to impress, you'll just get hurt and-"

"It already hurts," Noa said through his tears with an almost haunting tone, slowly sitting up as Mokuba jumped back and swallowed. Briefly...

His hair had almost gone brown, for just a second but...

"Gnnngh... Gh..." The boy wiped his eyes as the others stared, loud sniffles coming over the air. The question of the day was 'now what' but...

"Tch... I've had it," Seto growled, clenching her fists despite not moving from her spot. "You might have them fooled," the girl spat in the incredibly contrasting tone to her 'regular' voice, "But don't think you can do that to me! Either you turn us back and let us out now," she warned, "Or-"

"Oi- Calm down," Katsuya said somewhat plainly from the side, the others blinking. Seto appeared momentarily frozen in incredulity of course. He supposed his tone had to do with that, given that he sounded 'mature-ish' for once in his life, but nonetheless. "He ain' tryin' anythin' this time," he continued honestly, almost reaching out to hold the girl back before deciding against it. Katsuya looked from Noa back to Seto again, swallowing as he went on. "This kinda thing... Whaddya think he'd get from actin' like this?"

"And exactly how would you know that 'trying' didn't involve something negative anyways?" Seto pressed, narrowing her eyes as the others nodded in agreement.

"That's right," Shizuka said with a swallow, shaking her head nervously. "How do you..."

The blond bit his lip, looking back to Noa before taking in a deep breath. "I jus'... He's been through a lot more than y' think, alrigh'?" he said, a number of those before them looking quite unwilling to take the words as they were. "I-" How did he explain this...

All of this?

Ren of all people seemed to be the only one not staring with narrowed eyes, not to say he was particularly pleased about anything.

"What was it like?" another voice cut in, the others watching as Yugi, for once a number of inches taller than Mokuba, stepped forward in a hooded t-shirt. "When you and Noa switched places," he continued seriously, "What happened?"

What happened?

All eyes were turned on him right now, leaving Katsuya to shift rather uncomfortably under all the attention. He didn't even know what to say, but they were still turned on him... And...

"...We need t' keep movin'," he finally said, moving past the others as cheap brown sandals scraped across the stones. "There's gotta be someway out righ'?" Some way that didn't involve all of this...

"Well... I... I guess so," Mokuba muttered in agreement, starting off after the boy with a swallow. "But Katsuya-nii," he continued, "You haven't answered our questions and- oof!" The boy again tripped, quickly helped up by his sister before the girl pulled him on her back. "A-Ah, nee-sama-"

"We need to hurry," she said plainly, moving far ahead of the group as the others shrugged at what had almost been an expected reaction. "And Jonouchi..." The blond blinked, watching as she looked back to him. "While there's really 'no need', I would very much prefer it if you explained what the hell was going on," the girl growled, her friend tensing in response.

"G-Gn..."

"What she said," came another voice, the others briefly raising their eyebrows as Otogi ran up in an oversized hooded sweater, his hair more or less cut short. Now that was an interesting sight- Otogi shorter than his sister, with short hair, dressed in winter clothing... (Wait, wasn't this all 'summer' time stuff-) "If there's anything that could happen because of this Jonouchi, you need to tell us now." Damn that sounded weird with a kid's voice.

Either way! "Ah- Nothin's gonna happen!" he protested, gritting his teeth as he went red.

"Well then prove it," Anzu said with a slight frown, she and Shizuka both making sure Noa didn't wander off or break into another fit as they moved to pick him up from the side and help him forward to walk on. "How bad could it have possibly been?" How bad..?

Katsuya stopped walking, as did all those others while Seto looked back from ahead. They'd only just started moving but... H-Heh...

A question like that...

"...'S... ...'S like I said... When yer in tha' situation... Without a body," he clarified, not looking up from the ground as he swallowed. "...I couldn' feel anythin'," he whispered under his breath. "Even though i's jus' f'r a moment... Yer emotions 'r jus 'gone'," he continued, "There ain' nothin' t' control what y' do... Not ev'n y'rself." Not a single thing to control him other than a pre-written 'program'... And a bare minimum of instinct remaining from his thoughts. And that...

That...

"W' tha' in mind... After all tha', an' after what I did... I might not be able t' f'rgive 'm," Katsuya said with a swallow, turning away to take shuddering breaths. "But I sure as hell can't blame 'm either... Not if he was like tha' f'r this long..."

"...Jonouchi," Yugi said from behind, before the blond cut him off.

"He really did see it y' know," he said quietly, those around frowning somewhat in response. "Gozaburo's death. W's usin' th' security camera's in th' buildin'. Saw his mom die too," the boy continued, Anzu and Yugi both tensing at the mention of the suicidal woman, "An' th' fact is, even if he reacted normally... Knowing th' emotions yer feelin' ain't yours 's jus'... Not..."

"I'm sorry."

The others blinked, slowly looking back as Noa held himself close and looked to the ground from between his 'aides'. "Wh... What was that?" Anzu asked carefully, as though expecting another crazed ramble from the broken child that she was attempting to hold upward. "You said-"

"I'm sorry," Noa repeated, dull eyes staring at the ground before he began to walk forward. "...I'll help you find the exit now," he continued, the others blinking in response. An ex-

He was going to help them find a... "So then there's another way out?" Otogi asked quickly, turning from the side with an almost incredulous laugh.

The others stared in almost wide-eyed agreement, Honda giving a hopeful bark from the ground as he wagged his tail. "Ah... So then I won't be stuck like this forever-aru! Hahaha!" Noa seemed to stare at the dog in confusion, frowning as it froze in response. The look he was giving it...

"...Sunny..." Sun-

Ohhhhh right... "E... Erf!" Before he could give another sound Noa reached over, pulling the dog close as he squirmed. "H-HEY! WHAT THE HELL-ARU!"

Whatever complaints Honda had were completely ignored as Noa continued to hold the dog, staring forward with somewhat dead eyes. "...Daddy closed all the exits," the boy was saying, Honda giving a pitiful whine as Ren laughed in silence while climbing back up his partner's arm. "No one can escape here..." Wh-

WHAT! "W... Hang on..! If that's the case, then don't just say that you have an idea!" Ren protested, tensing from his position on Anzu's shoulder while the others stared with almost broken expressions. "Honestly! Don't lead us on!" The others appeared to be prepared to voice their own responses just as quickly, but before this could happen the boy continued.

"Daddy closed all the exits," Noa continued blankly, "But not my 'door'." A door...

Wait, 'his' door? He didn't remember anything about... "What're you talkin' abou'?" Katsuya muttered, shaking his head as he stared at the boy. "What door..?"

The boy looked to the side nervously, as though expecting all those around him to attack with no warning. "There's a door," Noa explained, blinking multiple times before continuing on. "I..." His grip on Honda abruptly tightened, and as the dog gasped for air he ran forward and past the silent and either scowling or simply staring 'friends' at the sides. "I have an idea!" Noa shouted, eyes wide with apparent clarity. "Follow me," he continued, "We have to hurry!"

And with little other choice they did just that.

* * *

While hells of all shapes and variant forms were occurring in the minds of the eight, technically ten people trapped in the Virtual World, there was a more minor form of hell occurring on the air ship that had been left behind.

Following the lock down of the ship and disappearance of most passengers, Keiichi had found himself standing against the wall and door of the room he was currently sharing with Ishizu, hand on his head as he bit his lip. On the one hand Shizuka and everyone else were in the hands of whoever 'Noa' was, given the dull demands that he could hear from within the room. On the other it was just as dangerous to remain behind; Malik, after all was still on board, along with any other staff that remained alive. And while they could successfully lock themselves in a room, thereby avoiding his attack temporarily...

There were just things that he wasn't sure about.

Things involving the millennium rod, and whatever powers it held. "Alright... I need to ask something," he'd said after a number of moments in silence, Ishizu looking up from where she was tending to Rishid's unmoving form. "You said you used... The 'tauk' to open our door last time right?" the boy asked hesitantly, face screwed up in suspicion.

The woman blinked as she turned back to her guest, before nodding slowly. "That is correct. Though my item is not much in regards to the offensive," the woman admitted almost quietly, "It provides... Provided rather, a more than treasured protection to my being, acting on either any vision I saw or in neutrality," she explained. Alright...

"So basically... Yours is the only one that isn't evil?" Keiichi asked as he waved his hands in gesture, Ishizu pulling a slight face at the statement.

"Well... I suppose so, but-" But that wasn't the point, moving on.

"Alright," Keiichi shouted quickly, sitting back up on his seat. "It opens doors... So what about the Millennium Rod then? Or the ring?" he added, a scowl of sorts on his face as Ishizu stared. Seeing how the ring was in this creep's hand as well...

There was no answer, and he went on.

"Does it do the same thing then?" the boy pressed, walking over from the chair with a scowl. "Is there something I should maybe know now," he continued, "Seeing how they're both in the hands of a killer?"

Ishizu froze at that, and the boy crossed his arms. Ah yes. That. Something he wasn't supposed to know before. He hadn't known about the body earlier of course, given that it was in a completely different room... Hell, all he'd known was that Malik was scary as hell and _possibly_ a killer.

But there had been blood on Ishizu's shoes, along with Rishid's body, and it hadn't been theirs.

So Ishizu had confessed and needless to say it had scared the ever loving crap out of him. "...We will be safe in here," the woman insisted once again after holding a blank and determined stare, Keiichi shaking his head as he scowled.

"No... No," he protested, emphasizing the response with yet another wide gesture. "I'm not taking that. I want to know what's out there!" Keiichi shouted, pointing toward the door. "I want to know just what kind of thing I'm dealing with here, before I, or anyone else, ends up KILLED!" There was again no answer, and the boy threw his hands up in aggravation as he walked over to the wall and the entrance. "Shit..." Shit... All of this... He didn't sign up for this crap! "I... I mean, come on!" the boy protested, turning back with an almost pleading look of continued incredulity. "There's a DEAD GUY in the next room, and you're acting like it's nothing!"

Ishizu again held a blank expression, turning away as her eyes closed over somewhat. "...I am merely keeping a cool head in the face of adversity," she stated, her guest taking a few steps and staring with wide eyes. No way...

No fucking way... "Bullshit," Keiichi countered, before looking out the window. "Complete and utter-" The boy froze, narrowing his eyes to squint out of the glass as he frowned. Hang on... "...What the hell..?"

Ishizu turned, frowning as the boy backed away somewhat from the window with wide eyes. "...What is it?" she asked, only for Keiichi to run from the window to leave the room without another word. "AH- Ryuzaki-san," the woman shouted out, jumping from her own chair. "Ryuzaki-san, what did you see?"

The woman received no answer as the boy ran, half stumbling into whatever was in his way as he tripped over his own over-excited feet. "Not good not good not good _not good,_ " he was muttering, running down the hall to hurry to a stop just inside the stairwell outside. "Not g- Gh..."

As the woman came up behind him both of the two fell silent, staring at the doorway with pale faces and horrified eyes.

Malik was standing in the entrance of the building's hall, chuckling as he muttered boasts and insults under his breath. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Trying to take my fun..." H... Hah... FUN! "Only I can kill those people," he chuckled, stepping forward as sentry guns began to fire with all they had toward the intruder. He should have died...

He should have died on the spot but Malik's mad laughter merely continued while he walked toward the guns, Keiichi slowly and nervously moving to stand at the door and behind the wall as both he and Ishizu watched in horror. "Hnhnhnhn... HAHA _HAHAHA_!" Bullets were flying off nothing as he cackled where he stood. All he'd done was wave the rod in his hands and the weapons that had trapped them in the ship had exploded into shrapnel, crushed against the sides of the walls with the bullets and bullet casings falling harmlessly to the ground in its wake. "HAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! Is this ALL you have?" the blond sneered twirling the rod in his hands as he looked toward the wreckage. "You'll have to do better than that... Heheheheheh..." Holy shit...

The turrets were... Destroyed.

Completely destroyed... "How the fuck is he doing that?" he hissed with wide eyes, pulling back from the door as Malik disappeared into the hallway before them and continued to cackle. "How the FUCK did he just do that!"

"I thought it was obvious," Ishizu answered almost immediately, looking to the boy as he frowned and turned back with incredulous eyes. "With the Millennium Rod. He's channelling its powers to force the devices before him back against themselves," she explained, the boy staring blankly back. He...

He was using... "The Rod," the boy repeated. "...The Millennium Rod is doing all of this." The woman nodded, and Keiichi grabbed at his head, groaning before looking back up to hiss. "He's using a GOLDEN STICK... Which somehow allows him to control MINDS... To deflect bullets!" the boy spat incredulously. "I mean... I don't know if this is some weird 'Egyptian' thing that no one knows about," he growled, "But THAT," he continued in rage, "Is not NORMAL!"

Ishizu seemed to stare at the boy for a few more moments, before watching as he threw his hands in the air and headed up the stairs in the continued rage.

"FUCK IT!" he shouted after a moment, face red and hair on end. "I don't even know why I'm bothering!"

"Most who encounter the Millennium Items don't survive the encounter," Ishizu muttered calmly. "I doubt many are familiar with them... It's only natural to be confused about them," she went on, the boy behind her not even turning to the words.

"Hn! Doesn't solve our problem!" he called back, Ishizu following behind him as he headed to their room.

"Which problem?" the woman asked calmly, as though to imply there was more than one.

"The one where there's a mad-man with crazy psychic-mind control powers in there," Keiichi retorted, running into the room to grab his backpack from the side and swing it onto his shoulders. "You know; the place where everyone else went?" he continued with a snarl. "Including Shiz'ka, and Yugi?"

Again the woman appeared to stare, frowning as the boy fiddled with the straps of the bag. "...You... You can't possibly think to go after him," she muttered, watching the boy adjust his backpack with a grunt.

"It's that or them," he said rather bluntly, cracking his knuckles as he made to move past the final (conscious) competitor on board.

"You... You can't," Ishizu protested, walking after him as Keiichi re-entered the hallway. "He has the millennium rod and ring both, his power will be dou-"

"I don't care," the boy pressed, stowing back his fear even as it continued to scream in horror at the back of his mind. "I don't know what happened to the others... And for all I know that 'Noa' guy did something to them already. But personally," he continued with a frown as he stared directly into his 'host's eyes, "I don't know why you aren't doing anything. That's your brother isn't it?" Keiichi asked, narrowing his eyes as he pushed on. "So that's your family, killing people out there! And you're telling me you don't want to do something?"

The woman narrowed her eyes, fists clenching in a well hidden rage as she herself met the boy's stare. "You... You dare to think I want this to happen," she hissed, Keiichi continuing on with ground teeth.

"That's not what I think at all," he countered, pointing an accusing finger forward. "I'm just saying you don't want to stop it."

Ishizu's eyes continued to narrow in anger, the woman's hair seeming to bristle just slightly as she went on. "And you think there is anything you can do?" she hissed, eyes widening abruptly in an almost 'Malik-like' fashion. "All you are going to do is kill yourself- we have only the Pharaoh and his Priest to trust..!"

"The ' _Pharaoh_ '?" he repeated with slight shock, shaking his head. As in Yugi? Come ON! "He's probably the one in trouble!" Keiichi growled, continuing back through the hall. "...God! You're such a..." Auggh, it wasn't even worth it at this point! He shook his head, moving to leave. "You're just scared, that's probably it..!"

"And you are not?" the woman countered plainly, Keiichi freezing momentarily on the stairs off the ship. Scared..?

He stood there, looking toward the hallway with a swallow before steeling his resolve once again. "...Of course I am," he responded flatly, turning back with his own glare. "But even so, I'm not afraid to admit it and chase after this bastard anyways..." Again he was answered with silence, Keiichi turning to leave with a shuddering breath as he forced himself to move. "Don't try and talk me out of this," the boy told her, taking a step forward. "No matter what," he continued, "I'm going to make sure that Shizka is safe and-"

"Wait for a moment," Ishizu abruptly said, the boy turning somewhat as the woman looked to the side. ...Wait? And why would he- "...I might not have the power to stop Malik... And neither do you," she continued with a frown, Keiichi's attention momentarily caught as the woman went on, "But that does not mean I am heartless. ...I am... Certain that the pharaoh would allow at least this much," she continued with a swallow, turning to enter the airship again as Keiichi hesitantly stepped back in after her. Allow..?

"Allow what?” he called out into the hall, following after the woman as she disappeared to the end of the dark path. Most of the doorways were still open to the darkened rooms for the passengers, having been left as such in the crash. They were hanging either completely to the side or partially opened as Yugi's was, leaving dark shadows in their wake.

As the woman disappeared inside Yugi's own room however the boy had to frown, the expression remaining in place as Ishizu returned with something tightly clenched in her hands.

"...Ishizu..?" The woman dropped something over his head, the boy blinking somewhat incredulously as he looked down at what it was. Mostly there was just string, a shoelace probably, tied rather crudely to what would ordinarily make for a latch. But this...

This was...

Keiichi choked, stepping back somewhat as the tauk hung loosely on the string, gleaming despite the lack of light in the area. "E-EH! You're giving me the-"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head before the boy could finish speaking. "I am not 'giving' this to you... I am trusting you with it for until the Pharaoh returns," she explained almost calmly, before continuing on. "Hide this beneath your shirt," she told him, gesturing somewhat at the tauk as she continued on. "If I were to have you wear the tauk completely it would more than likely reject you as an owner... In this way its powers will only act on its own protection," the woman explained, "While protecting you as a side effect. You won't have any ability to use it yourself. But this will at least prevent the Millennium Rod from affecting you," Ishizu told him calmly. It would...

So this was a shield then. This was a shield against...

The boy frowned somewhat, slowly picking up the tauk and swallowing at the cold feeling he received from the gold. Ice...

An instant freeze that spread across his fingers and seemed to turn them into ice despite them remaining mobile... It felt as though by simply holding it, he would doom himself.

Nonetheless he slipped it beneath his shirt, giving a slight shudder as it pressed against his skin and transferred the deathly cold feeling to his chest and stomach. "H-Hihh... Gn..." Keiichi hurriedly got over himself, looking up to the woman before him and swallowing. "I... Ishizu..."

"Go," she whispered, gesturing to the end of the hall with a calm smile. "I'm counting on you now... Don't let him destroy you," the woman continued quietly, "And be sure that the pharaoh and his friends survive, understand?" He...

He would. "I will," Keiichi assured her, turning away somewhat before looking up again and pressing through the cold numbness against his body. "But first... ...Thank you," he said honestly, bowing somewhat awkwardly despite the honesty of his words. "Really... I mean it."

"Of course," the woman responded. "Now go..."

And with another nod, he vanished from the hall, leaving the Egyptian to wonder if she had just damned him or not.

* * *

The cave they were walking through was far darker and longer than it seemed, though inexplicably 'becoming' seven likely had a fair amount to do with the sudden realization of how large and dark everything was.

Of course, 'seven' was pushing it. She was closer to eight when she looked like this given that it had been July when she wore these clothes. And how she remembered that was the last thing she wanted to know, but regardless...

Well, even without taking into consideration this bizarre and inexplicable 'reset' from Noa's pathetic, broken mind, she absolutely detested the form she held right now and was not above anyone knowing that fact by means of scowling and pushing forward while ignoring as many of the others that were ahead of her as possible.

Honda recognized her.

He had indeed been the boy from the cemetery, and the fact that he now recognized her was only further sending her into a rage given the fact that she had been certain none from 'that time' had followed her into her current life. To add to that her clothes were bright and cheery, her hair was only out of her eyes because of a yellow headband, and the fact was, she was _short_. The only people she was taller than were Otogi, Shizuka, Yugi, and her brother, and the fact was that the last three might as well have not counted at all. True, Anzu was only an inch taller...

But being shorter than the mutt was pissing her off. Bad enough she looked like her younger self but that?

The mutt was _TALLER_! "Tch..." Seto narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists as Mokuba ran up alongside the others after dropping from her back. She hated this form she thought to herself, grinding her teeth with a swallow. She hated it. She was small, weak, and worst of all...

It brought back too many memories. Far too many. This was what she wore before it all happened, her mind kept telling her. Before Christmas, before the car accident...

Before anything...

The girl's toes stubbed against a pebble as she continued to scowl, the 'Other' Yugi walking beside her curiously as Seto briefly stopped to kick the stone away. It was strange, the one beside her she noted. His eyes had inexplicably turned green, something that she'd opted not to comment on as she walked forward. The fact of the matter was that there were many conversations centered on 'past selves' echoing around the caves, many things that she was finding out about these people that she could have just as easily continued through life without knowing.

Exactly 'when' they were was the first to come up among the crowd ahead, along with 'where'. Most had turned to Otogi with raised eyebrows- apart from him, all those who were human and affected were wearing some form of summer wear, or at least the sort of clothing appropriate for the season. Anzu had her sundress, Shizuka her skirt, most of the boys had shorts...

Otogi however had a thick hooded sweater with splash-pants and snowboots and it was shortly after that, for this very reason, that they were able to pin the 'date'. True, everyone else had been in their neighbourhoods in early August of 2003 for a fair amount of time...

But Otogi's father had moved constantly through his childhood, and Otogi had been located in Northern Canada of all places at the time he'd worn all of the winter-wear.

Which according to him meant ' _lots of sun thanks to the 'white nights', and I didn't get any sleep... I was only there for a week though, so it wasn't too bad_.'

Supposedly his father needed to meet someone and discuss something about some other thing...

Quite frankly she didn't care less about what was going on, all she knew was that it seemed to have been an important week for a fair number of people. ' _That's around when Mom and Dad left each other,_ ' Jonouchi's sister was telling the blond, her brother merely staring at the ground with a frown. _'And we passed a car accident that day to... I... I think..._ '

_'I met Yugi that day..! At the park,_ ' Anzu was saying, as her voice drowned out the more hushed tones of Shizuka. ' _That was the first day we met..!_ ' The first day hn...

Lots of 'important' things had happened it seemed then.

But just what was it that kept Noa from turning them back now? That would be nice to know... "...Kaiba," the boy beside her abruptly said, Seto turning to look at the boy that was now just an inch or so shorter than herself.

"...Hn..?"

The boy held a somewhat serious gaze, speaking with hushed tones despite the almost cherubic appearance of his eight-year old face. "I need to ask... About Noa," he continued, looking toward where the boy was running off with a still very much uncomfortable Honda gripped tightly under his arms. "...Exactly how many of his words do you find 'believable'?" Noa's honesty?

Was that all this was about then? Seto snorted, crossing her arms as she continued to walk through the darkness. "Hn! And here I thought it was something serious, with the way you were looking at me," she muttered, momentarily regretting just how not serious she herself looked in the meantime. Her 'friend' merely rolled his eyes, looking back to the front again as he stowed his hands in his pockets.

"Something isn't right here," he added on with a mutter, shaking his head. "There's something more..."

"Please... You don't think I noticed that?" she growled in response. No... That was plenty obvious. But what choice did she have when her brother and 'mutt' were moving along with it? "Hn... I'm not stupid... Now," she continued, the boy at her side pausing a moment as he frowned, "Something tells me we're almost at our 'destination'..."

Or at least, the light at the end of the tunnel did. The light however did not reveal much of anything. In fact as she ran forward the 'light' Yugi following a few moments after with again violet eyes, it seemed more as though the cave had been dissolving around them for the room to appear, for the walls to collapse and for the ceiling and floors to merge into it. Most of the others were looking around in confusion, stumbling to a stop with wide eyes...

Jonouchi however seemed to be narrowing his own in suspicion, and within seconds a pair of children in white appeared from the sides to stand before their creator. These two...

...Kisara and... Who again?

"Noa-sama," the two programs chorused, Noa in question looking to them with a somewhat stiffened gaze despite earlier shows of childishness. "As requested," they both muttered, "The Fire Wall has been erected." Fire wall..!

"What fire wall?" Mokuba asked with a frown, voicing his sister's confusion and that of the other's as well as he looked toward the boy ahead of them. "You didn't even say anything, how did you-..!"

Noa merely smirked, the first real show of 'honest' emotion since the break down. "I don't need to," he said plainly, seeming to momentarily hover in the air as he held his hands out in an open gesture. "I 'am' this world, remember?" Hn! Again Seto snorted in response, shaking her head with a scowl. Honestly...

Did they really need a reminder? A door appeared before them with those words, huge and carved from stone to resemble a dragon standing on its hind legs with a clawed limb raised forward. A pair of knights flanked each side, with a young man on the left and a woman on the right. One with a blade coated in flames, the other a blade covered in what looked almost like 'water'...

And there were symbols all over the stone; symbols of strange an unknown origin that she couldn't ever hope to decipher, no matter how long she had. As the others walked closer to the structure however Otogi appeared to freeze, before running to the first statue to 'read' over the carvings in shock. "T-This..." He choked, looking back to Noa as Ren also came over to stare and gawk. "This is in 'Enochian'," he called out incredulously. "What are you doing with Enochian in your program..!"

"Ah... So that's what it's called then?" the snake muttered, Seto raising a dull eyebrow as the others looked back to the door with wide eyes. "Point still stands I mean," he continued with a cough, "But..."

"This door is formed from a collective of your memories," Noa explained almost nonchalantly, stepping to the sides to allow the others to gather in the door way before them. "This," he continued, "Combined with the firewall, will prevent my father from locating us, as well as discovering our intentions..." Oh really now... So was that how it worked? Seto narrowed her eyes, listening as the boy continued. "Beyond this door is the 'city' that I lived in during my first days in this world," he said somewhat quietly, a few of the others seeming to look to the boy in some form of pity as Seto held her glare. "I never deleted the program... And within it is an 'exit' that was created to bring in new and more complex material. It's connected to the pods," the boy went on with a swallow. "All of them. So if I use this program," he continued, "I can return each of you to your original bodies." Hnn...

And wasn't that convenient... "So we just need to go through here?" Anzu was asking, adjusting the sun-hat on her head as Seto continued to narrow her eyes.

The boy nodded, revealing no signs of betrayal in his voice. "We go through here," he told them, "And I'll guide you to the exit." Of course he would guide them. Please... They couldn't possibly be falling for-

"Alright," Otogi was saying slowly. "Then... We can escape..." Tch- as though it were that easy! And yet before she could argue the door had opened, a blinding light filling the air...

And in an instant, all she saw was black.


	25. The Sparrow and the Lion

The moment the light from the door cleared Mokuba could see the front steps of his Middle School in Domino. Noa knew this, and knew just how familiar the location was to the boy; he was after all a

computer, ever present in the minds of those he bothered to keep track of.

And no one would ever escape this place he told himself confidently, a childish and crazed grin coming over his face as he chuckled to himself. No one...

They would remain here, trapped in the world of their own memory until he was long gone. Until he and his brother were long gone, leaving behind that woman to burn in her own hell with all her friends for company.

But he was getting ahead of himself, Noa thought to himself as he looked 'down' upon his brother. Mokuba...

He was confused of course, given that he was standing at school in his uniform with no one around him. ' _...Katsuya-nii?_ ' the boy was calling out, frowning somewhat as he stepped forward in the school's entrance. ' _...Nee-sama..? Anyone..?_ ' So lost wasn't he, the boy thought with a sigh. So very lost...

But not for long he told himself with a somewhat manic smile, chuckling yet again. He had his eyes on a body, and with just the right move he'd have his brother by his side as well... Just a simple block, a 'lock' on synapses, hypnotism if he would. He didn't have to know that they wouldn't follow behind them after all. He didn't have to know that they would never wake up, and that he would kill them all while they 'slept' in this endless world...

All he needed to know was that even though his dear 'Katsuya-nii' was Noa now, everything was alright. Perfectly fine and never better...

But for now. To plant the seeds that would take them there he told himself, landing to the 'ground'.

"Mokuba!" the boy shouted, running forward from down the street after allowing himself to appear within the boy's 'world' of memory. "Mokuba!" he continued in a seeming panic, "There you are..!"

The boy jumped, turning to the side to blink as the boy approached him. "Ah... Noa..." He watched as his 'brother' approached, frowning somewhat as he peered behind the computerized child. "...Where is everyone?" he asked, shaking his head. "I can't see..."

Noa just held the wide and honest smile, hiding his reasons behind it as he took the boy by the shoulder. "They've already taken the exit," the boy told his 'brother', still smiling as he pulled him forward. "We'd thought you were right behind us, and it does go quite quickly... I suppose I should have made sure everyone was in close quarters," the boy continued as an excuse, guiding his brother down the street as the city seemed to close in on itself and shorten the roads to increase the speed of movement. "Come on," he went on, smirking somewhat. "You don't want to be late right?"

"Ah- Of course not!" Mokuba protested, coughing nervously as he picked up his speed. "I mean, if everyone's out already!"

His 'brother' nodded, continuing to smile as they moved. "I thought not," he said rather plainly. "Now... The door was placed in the arcade- there was enough of a convergence in memory to place it there," the boy explained somewhat absently, "So I found it the best place to hide the program for now..."

The boy beside him nodded in apparent understanding, walking along side his friend in silence for the next few moments. Street after street was crossed in eerily empty blocks, with not a single sound traded between them. Signs seemed to blur before eventually clearing. Objects in the windows gained detail. Eventually however he turned, frowning.

"...Hey... Noa?" he asked, the light-haired boy turning in response as the boy continued hesitantly. "...Like you said... After we all escape," Mokuba muttered, "You'll have to stay behind, right? Since we're all going back... There's no 'body' for you, is there?" he asked almost sadly, looking to the boy with misty eyes.

Noa nodded, smile fading somewhat despite his inner feelings of mirth and excitement growing. Oh... Don't worry. They would be getting out, but everyone else...

Hnhnhnhnhn... Don't worry...

He would make sure that the both of them were the only ones to live. "You're right," he ended up saying in place of his thoughts however, leading the way toward the arcade as the sign for the building appeared in the distance. "Once you're out," he continued, "There will be nothing left..."

"...Really?" Noa paused momentarily as they entered the arcade, the boy at his side turning with an almost awkward shrug. "I mean... I don't know about 'now' of course," he admitted somewhat nervously, "But... If you promise... And I mean promise, not to try anything strange or dangerous... Maybe we could... Make you a body," Mokuba said quietly, a small smile on his face. Make...

Make him a... "You would... How?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes as the thought to investigate the matter himself failed to come to his mind. "How would you-"

The boy smirked, shaking his head and shrugging once more. "Hey... Technology has changed in the last near decade! It might not be flesh and blood... But the cybernetics behind things like artificial limbs and even eyes is incredibly advanced now," Mokuba explained, crossing his arms as he continued to explain proudly. "And you know we don't have much standing in the way for funding. So maybe... With time, we could have a body for you again. And... Well... It's definitely not some 'dog' or anything!" he laughed, Noa pulling a slight smile at the reference to the form Honda was holding at the moment in the world of memories. Ah...

So this was what he meant... "I see..." Poor boy... He'd done his work too well. But that would all be for the best wouldn't it, he told himself.

"Hehehe... We're brothers right?" Mokuba was saying with a slight smile, unaware of the thoughts of the boy before him. "Even if you did all those things... Well. My sister did a lot of things she regrets too," he admitted, shaking his head. "So I want to get to know you a little more as well, alright?" Ah...

This... To think of him so highly... Noa smiled, nodding as he pointed across the room. Time to get this over with.

Time to move! "Over there," he said calmly. "The exit is on the DDR stage..."

"The DDR stage?" the boy repeated, receiving a nod in response. "Right... I can't wait to get out!" he shouted with a grin, running over as he laughed and ducked under the guard rail. Of course he couldn't...

And when they got out, he'd never be sad again. They'd be brothers... Just like they should have been, even if the genetics wouldn't match. Exactly like...

"So... How do I do this?" he asked in the meantime, a nasty and crazed grin coming over the face of the boy behind him as Mokuba looked over the game's controls for an 'exit button'. "I mean... We aren't too late, right?" he added nervously, looking to the ground in fear. "Right?"

"Of course not," Noa said reassuringly, stepping up from behind the unknowing boy as he pulled his hand back and grinned. "We're right on time." And in that instant, it really did go black for Mokuba.

Or at least... Part of him.

* * *

As two sets of pods opened in the real world, brown eyes slowly opened to stare at a cold grey ceiling. Dog tags dangled from around the body's neck, and as he stepped out from the pod another, silent boy stepped from his own. Mokuba stood up straight with ease as he hopped from the pod, eyes appearing somewhat dim despite the smile across his face. But on Jonouchi's face...

There was shock for a moment. Awe, and disbelief as the teen looked over his hands as though they were gifts from God himself, treasures that had been hidden away from the face of the earth completely. Fingers twitched. Flexed. Curled into fists before opening flat, once, twice, three times, as many times as it took to realize that yes, they could move...

"Hah... Hahaha..." A grin appeared over the blond's face, and the hands he'd 'tested' quickly patted down the rest of his torso, as if to see that everything was there before he began to laugh again. "HAHAHAHA! AHA _HAHAHAHAAAA_!” A body.

He had a real body. He had a heart rate. He had a breath. Flesh, blood, hair, skin... Nerves to feel with, eyes to see with, feet to walk with...

And it was real he thought with a continued and tear-filled laugh, Mokuba apparently oblivious to the actions save the fact that his 'brother' was beyond happy. It was real, it was all REAL!

_It was REAL_!

"Neh, Noa-niichan?" Mokuba said from the blond's side, Noa straightening himself as he looked down at his 'brother' through his real eyes to smile. "...Are we leaving?"

The now teen nodded, turning to the side at where the door labelled 'Computer' was. "Yes," he said calmly, a silent cheer entering his mind with each somewhat stumbling step he took toward the key pad at the side. "Yes, we are," he half chuckled, ignoring the difficulty he had in regaining his ability to walk after so many years without a body. "There's just something I need to do, alright?" he continued with a smirk.

"What is it?"

"Oh... Nothing much... I just don't want this place to ever have the chance of coming back, you understand right?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Mokuba immediately nodded, frowning slightly as his brother entered the code to the door to the stairs before him. "Of course! I don't want anything more to do with this place!" A small smirk came on Noa's face, before the code finished and he was allowed into the 'hall' and stairs downward. The boys walked forward into what was not a hall however, but more a... 'Foyer'.

They travelled down the stairs to a room containing what looked to be an enormous control center, filled with devices and wires of all sorts, screens surrounding the room and computers rising all the way to the ceiling. Quick fingers came across the keys of the center keyboard as he stepped before it, Mokuba looking around in idle curiosity as his 'brother' typed away and stared at the screens before him. First he thought, easily recalling the information his mind had 'downloaded' from within the machine, access the world's systems...

Then the satellites he had in his control...

Then the one closest to the current location...

_'Program M2A5 altered,_ ' a computerized voice stated, Noa hitting one last key with a vicious smirk. ' _Missiles set to fire within Thirty Minutes._ '

"Hn... Thirty minutes?" Mokuba repeated almost dully, watching as Noa cracked his neck to head for a second door across the room. "That's not much time niichan..."

"Don't worry," the blond chuckled darkly. "We'll be fine..." Perfectly fine...

And while they escaped...

He would send her and everyone else to hell. "Let's go Mokuba," he said quickly, taking the boy's hand as the side door to the outside opened before them. "We have a long way to go now."

And with a happy nod the boy followed his 'brother' down into the hall, completely oblivious to the damage they were about to leave behind.

* * *

After the brief darkness had settled in, Otogi and Honda weren't quite sure what they'd been doing the moments before the current one. They weren't sure how they arrived at their location, how they'd managed to start the current conversation...

All they knew to start off was that there were sakura petals falling outside.

It was extremely late for that sort of thing of course- already the Golden Week of May- but it was nonetheless a beautiful sight and an extremely welcome one given the stressful situation going on at the moment. There were very few sakura trees in the area to admire granted, but the fact was that even the single one outside this apartment building was quite fine.

Particularly since this apartment had such a good view of it Otogi thought to himself with a slight smirk.

"And in here you'll find the washroom," the landlord was telling them, showing them around the small 'One K' apartment, that they were planning to rent. "It's a standard shower/bath combo," he explained somewhat blandly, "I can show you how the tap works if you like..."

"That's fine," his friend told him almost too quickly, Otogi looking around the remaining apartment in the meantime and stepping outside to inspect the balcony.

Spring was soon going to become summer it looked like. Despite the delay on the 'Petal Rain' the heat was slowly rising more and more, and if it hadn't been for the air conditioning in the apartment he'd be sweating profusely by now. Most questions they were asking involved said air conditioning, along with the water, the other utilities...

"How much is the rent again?" Honda asked the landlord, receiving a fairly swift response for his efforts.

"Sixty one thousand," the man responded, Honda turning to give his friend a slightly apprehensive look as the teen looked out the window.

Honda for the moment, still resembled a dog, albeit a large snake-covered one that was crouching and taking up most of the apartment. The snakes around his neck in particular were displeased with their current location, and exactly how he was getting out would have been a good question...

If, of course, anyone had seen him as anything but human for the moment. "There is of course, the 'reikin'," the land lord was continuing with a cough as the dog before him whined somewhat. "That will be an extra month's pay for down payment..."

At that Otogi looked back to frown, Honda seeming to shift somewhat with anxiety over the matter as the serpents around his neck hissed. "...You... Can't lower the reikin?" he asked as his friend walked over, the taller of the two scratching his ears somewhat idly before shaking himself.

"...No," the landlord said somewhat plainly, the dog biting his lip.

"...Will the apartment still be here in two months then?" Otogi asked, Honda raising an eyebrow at the request. "Is there anyone waiting for a vacancy?"

The dog growled from beside him, narrowing his eyes. "Still here- Otogi," he hissed, his mane mirroring the action, "Ane wants us out in one!"

"Well then she'll have to live with it," the teen responded almost darkly, "Because this is the only apartment we can even afford!"

Honda appeared to bite his lip further with that, the landlord looking from the two before nodding slowly to cut the argument short. "I can hold the apartment for two months; however," he added with a frown, still holding his papers, "I expect an extra fifteen hundred in reikin to make up for any lost sales if someone else asks for it during that time." Ah-

An extra-

The teen beside him appeared to be about to say something, before Otogi snapped and held Honda's jaws shut and nodded. "We'll take it," he said quickly, bowing his head politely. "Thank you!"

"Not a problem... Do you need any more time to inspect the apartment?" the man added, gesturing around him.

The two looked at each other, before shaking their heads. "No," Honda said after moving the hand from his mouth with a slight growl. "No, we're good..."

About five minutes later, and they were walking back home, having somehow left the building without breaking through a door and come onto the sidewalk without stopping traffic. "...It's good that your brother-in-law agreed to pay half the reikin," Otogi said after a while, the two continuing to walk along the streets in silence. "We wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise..."

"We'd have been able to move in today if he'd agreed to pay all of it," the hound muttered bitterly.

"Yeah," Otogi responded, "But Reikin is a rip off anyways."

"It's gotten cheaper."

"I still don't believe that." At all- though he supposed what they'd gotten away with wasn't bad...

The two waited at the cross walk for a few moments, cars speeding by while they stared off almost dully into the distance.

"...Why did he offer to pay anyways?" Otogi pressed, turning to his friend with a frown. Honda snorted, shaking his head.

"Hn! Probably so he can do more with Ane once I'm gone..."

"...Do what-"

"Don't ask," Honda responded swiftly. Er...

"Right," the teen said with a cough, shaking his head and flushing somewhat. Of course... Of course.

...Ah...

"...Have we had this conversation?" he asked after a moment of awkward silence, walking across the street as Honda followed behind.

"What? About apartments?" the dog questioned with a frown. No...

Not really... "Just... This conversation in general," he clarified, shaking his head. "It feels like we've done this before..."

Honda appeared to pause at that as they reached the end of the street, shaking his head, "Hn... I don't think so," he muttered, the snakes around his neck 'shrugging'.

A red car passed them by at that moment. A porsche, with a blond woman speeding forward through the intersection as a second blond leaned on the door of the passenger seat. Those people...

The two blinked, shaking themselves momentarily. Huh. Strange, Otogi thought to himself, he could have sworn that was...

...No never mind, he decided as he shook his head, following back after his friend as the dog moved on. It was nothing, he told himself. It was nothing...

Just a trick of the light.

* * *

For some reason as they moved, he felt numb. As though to get there he'd somehow lost a piece of himself. And yet the more he thought about it the more something corrected his thoughts, corrected his-

"Where are we?" he found himself muttering suspiciously, watching as clouds and buildings blurred past the sides of the vehicle.

' _You're in a car,_ ' a voice reassured him. That was right. He was in Mai's car he told himself, and she was sitting beside him. The blond turned, blinking as they passed a crosswalk while the woman drove silently forward. He thought for a moment he saw his friends. Saw Honda and Otogi...

But instead it seemed to just be a trick of the light, nothing more nothing less.

The car came to a stop briefly. "Where do you want to go?" Mai asked, turning to look at him with a slight smile as he stared. Where...

A flash came to mind. Screaming, and mad cackling... This wasn't right he told himself, turning away to hold his head. Why was he with Mai... Alone? Wouldn't the others have come? He should have been drenched in water he thought to himself as he recalled such a time, a time with all the others in the car as well. That was right, he'd been wet at the time...

And Mai hadn't been asking where he wanted to go, his mind continued to correct himself, she'd asked if he was _willing_ to go...

' _Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to see a doctor?_ ' she asked, Katsuya still shaking his head.

This already happened. He... He was supposed to be at the-

' _Well_ _obviously you aren't there yet,_ ' he was assured, a sudden sensation of calm coming over him. ' _Clearly 'where' was supposed to be that place. You should answer._ ' Of course...

Of course, nothing to worry about. And he was probably just late after all, as he often tended to be. And just mistaken... Just...

"...Where do you want to go?" Mai repeated from the side, still smiling calmly. Answer her...

"...Anywhere," he found himself muttering. He didn't know where 'anywhere' was of course but... The phrase felt right, given that he didn't quite know where to go. Perhaps that was where the others were, he told himself as they passed a canal. Perhaps that was the place where he'd duel Malik and-

He froze, looking back to where Mai was sitting only to blink when the woman he had vowed to rescue from the penalty game failed to meet his gaze. She wasn't there- it was Seto now, with the small smile he'd only seen once, maybe twice. "Seto-chan..?"

The woman said nothing, merely continuing to drive despite acting nothing like the woman he knew. This...

_Nothing_ , his mind told him. This was nothing, this was... Normal.

The blond blinked off his confusion, turning to the canal briefly as a roar pierced the air. A snarling roar, with words laced within...

Osiris he asked himself, blinking and shaking his head as he looked toward the scene to see the red serpent-dragon swirl through the sky. And...

Yugi?

' _Don't be silly,_ ' the voice told him, Katsuya still frowning. ' _They're waiting at 'anywhere', remember?_ ' Of course. Of course...

After all he told himself as he stepped out of the car, walking forward from concrete to sand with dull eyes. That was just a trick of the light.

_This_ was what was real now.

* * *

The 'doll' as he was called was staring with the same limp eyes he was so familiar with right now, hanging forward on the invisible strings that had yet to be cut again. Yugi choked back a few tears of pain as he struggled to his feet, attempting to recover from the most recent attack. Osiris was standing across him, roaring loudly...

' _Do you think you can WITHSTAND this TRIAL LITTLE KING?_ ' he snarled, the boy looking forward with only dim awareness as to what was going on. This trial...

This trial...

"THUNDER FORCE!" the possessed body cried. Osiris' jaw dropped from across him...

Flames began to tear towards him, and as he closed his eyes Yugi grimaced and waited for the inevitable. But wait...

His eyes flung open and he shook himself, eyes wide as he frowned. The flames froze in place.

Time came to a standstill and he looked up toward the attack and swallowed.

"This isn't right," he said quickly, the scene abruptly shattering as he stood across a storming dock. This duel...

Jonouchi was laughing across from him but his memory had changed, altered to suit what he now knew; flames wrapped around his friend's form and teeth gnawed at the blond's spirit, the 'real' Jonouchi trying in vain to regain control amid the taunts of his body, amid the tear filled cries to 'snap out of it' from his lighter half.

' _Don'_ _list'n_ _t' him'!_ ' his friend was crying, begging through the snarls of the millennium rod. ' _Don'_ _list'n_ _t' him_ ,' he wailed almost pitifully, ' _This ain' me!_ ' This duel...

"This isn't right," he said again, eyes widening further as time froze once more, the chains of the anchor snapping to scatter through the sky.

And again, the scene shattered with them. Flower petals scattered to the ground amid the trees on Hanami, the air filling with the dark shades of a night sky and the scent of cherry blossom trees. For a brief moment Jonouchi and Kaiba were sharing a smile, differences and past encounters cast aside, if only for a moment. But this moment...

This calm and almost dream-like moment that now froze before him, trapped completely in time...

"Hasn't this happened already?" he whispered, pulling back somewhat as he shook his head.

' _Of course not_ ,' a voice whispered in his mind, the scene before him shattering to replace with yet another of his modern day memories. ' _It's just a trick of the light._ '

* * *

Everything was just 'a trick of the light', they were being told. Tricks of the light and sounds of the wind, nothing out of place and nothing suspicious. Or at least this is what they were being told when they bothered to feel confused, or out of place, or fearful of their situation. So long as they 'believed' however and trusted in what they saw, it was always real after all. Always real, always everlasting, and never, ever, unwanted.

Or was it?

"Alright," the girl could remember calling out with a scowl, pushing through the door at the lunch break to storm forward. "I found you! Now give them BACK!" she shouted with a huff, watching Keiichi spin the glasses in his hands as the currently thirteen year old boy laughed.

"You have to come and get them first," he chuckled from the table he was at, his friend continuing to scowl. "You can see me fine anyways right?"

She never said anything about why she wore the glasses. Keiichi knew though, more than anything he knew. But as she pouted angrily the boy smirked, tossing them over before she could bring up that point and snatch them back herself. "A-Ah..."

Keiichi chuckled as the girl took the glasses, slowly putting them back on her face to stare forward with a slight frown. "Hehehe... What, did you think I'd keep them?" he asked, smirking as he moved from the desk he'd been sitting at. Shizuka fell silent at that, and the boy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Hn! Yeah right... Only bullies do that, didn't you know?"

Bullies?

The girl tensed, shaking her head. "I never said you were-"

"And I'm not," the boy said plainly, crossing his arms a moment before gesturing to the glasses. "I tightened the screw on your glasses by the way," he told her, his friend taking the glasses off a moment to stare at them. "It was loose." The screw?

Shizuka looked over the screw in question, blinking as she looked at it through the tunnelled vision she was beginning to have. Keiichi had snatched her glasses away when she put them on the desk after they'd fogged up from the steam in the change rooms behind her, when she'd put them to the side to clear. She'd looked up from the window ledge at the side when she heard a noise, and suddenly they'd been gone. She'd figured Keiichi was just being a moron but...

But they were in the 'shop' classroom now and...

That was a screwdriver on the desk and...

"...Thanks," she ended up saying, bowing her head somewhat as she flushed with embarrassment.

The boy merely grinned, laughing. "Hehehe... No problem," he laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder as they moved to leave the room. "They're important to you right?" Right..?

Suddenly Shizuka wasn't so sure of herself any more. Of her memory, of what was happening. She was standing at the side, watching an event in time that she could only paint with her imagination for visuals, only watch from the side in a mental animation.

Because at this time, as Keiichi fingered the now useless glasses in his hands and bowed his head, she was blind... Lying in her bed as tears rolled down her face despite herself, and despite the courage she had tried so hard to gain for this time.

"I guess... You don't need me to fix these anymore... Do you?" he had asked, looking to the girl as she attempted to stop her tears.

"It's alright," she'd reassured him, wiping her eyes as she sniffed. "Really..."

It was December now.

"I wanted to help," Keiichi had continued quietly, still holding the glasses in his hands. "I'd thought... If I'd won that tournament..."

"You tried your best," she whispered, shaking her head as she took her friend's hand. "Really... It's fine..."

But it wasn't fine the present day version of herself reminded herself, tears beginning to roll down her own face as she watched her memories 'roll' on some endless film reel. Even after the surgery, after her brother used his tournament winnings to pay for her eyes, after everything had been 'fixed'...

Even when she'd slept at the hospital, with Keiichi sitting at the side like some physical guardian angel...

"I'm so sorry," he would whisper, Shizuka still crying as words she hadn't been able to hear came to mind, the words that he'd used as he prayed for her to remove the bandages came to mind. "I'm so sorry... If I could just tell you how much," he told her, holding her hand as she slept in a drug induced and painless sleep, "How much I..." She...

She...

All of this...

None of this could ever possibly be a trick of the light she cried to herself, wiping her eyes as the scene continued to play with no one to comfort her. Never...

Never!

* * *

Tricks of light and illusions that danced...

Voices on the wind that blew past her ear, as though sent by someone far away...

Memories that were once faded now passed clearly before her eyes and as Anzu watched she could numbly feel a second presence watch with her.

Jealously. Greedily.

As though all she saw before her was nothing more than a dream, a highly coveted dream to this being, something that they could reach out to but never touch. However, a voice told her in the back of her mind, this presence wasn't really there.

So it would be best to ignore it.

She could remember playing at the park that day, those many years ago. She was wearing that stupid yellow sundress that her mother dressed her in, along with the hat, and the pigtails, and the shoes, and _didn't she look adorable_ her mother had squealed, her daughter having wanted nothing more than to run around in her overalls that day.

_'It looks nice though,_ ' she thought she heard someone say far off in the distance, but as quickly as she heard it, the voice was gone.

_'Just the wind_ ,' her mind whispered soothingly, Anzu holding her head as she moved the memory-matching hat from her eyes. _'Ignore it.'_

She was playing on the swings at the moment, but not really. Her feet were just kicking at the dirt at the ground and her eyes were moving everywhere. There was a small boy nearby with odd coloured hair trying to play with a puzzle of sorts she noted, staring off at the scene almost blankly for a few moments. There was one boy though, one mean young boy with almost snake-like eyes kicking sand in his face, the smaller of the two pulling back as Anzu frowned. "...Hey!” she shouted after a moment, receiving no reaction to the call. So she'd gotten off of the swing, walking over with a clenched fist and raising her voice. "I said, 'HEY!'"

The older boy turned, unable to ignore the shouts for the moment. "What do you want?" he spat, the smaller boy cringing as he was faced with a threatening glare to keep his mouth shut.

"What do you want with him?" she asked plainly, the taller boy shrugging.

"He's in my spot."

"Your 'spot'?" the girl muttered incredulously.

"Yeah; this is where I come to play everyday. And this brat needs to learn what that means," the boy continued, looking to the smaller one as he pulled away and swallowed.

"E-Erm... Please don't-"

"Well, I think you need to learn that this _isn't_ your spot." She'd drawn closer with almost every word she said at that, the boy before her scowling as she narrowed her eyes. Eventually she'd shoved him away, coming to close to him to do so any more, and as the boy stumbled back somewhat she smirked. "Got that?"

"Tch! As if!" The boy had attempted to strike her with that, a fist raised and heading toward her- she was too fast for that.

"Stupid!" A kick to the shin was all it took- the boy doubled over in pain, giving the girl a threatening look before evidently thinking otherwise of whatever he'd planned to do as he wheezed through the pain.

"You'll regret this!" he shouted out angrily, running off after considering his options with the girl. Anzu merely stuck out her tongue in a childish but fairly age-appropriate response, before turning to the smaller boy as he gathered his foam puzzle from the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked, dully aware of a mother on a bench pausing from where she'd been about to intervene.

The boy nodded, slowly pulling himself up with a swallow before bowing his head toward the girl. "Y-Yeah... Th-Thanks..."

_'I'm Yuugi_ '. They'd promised to be friends after that she told herself, watching as her past self continued to play in the sand with her childhood friend. Always friends. But something happened to the memory at that moment for some reason, despite her not noticing initially. As she looked up at the night sky that evening, leaving the park with her parents, it changed...

The memory...

"What's it like out there?" she felt herself say, staring up through a well-shaped hole in the ceiling, the stars changed and shining far brighter than anything she'd ever seen. "What's it like?"

_'Big,_ ' a young girl whispered from beside her, unseen in the darkness of the evening. ' _Bigger than you could ever dream._ ' But that's not right she told herself, shaking her head and taking it in her hands with a confused frown. This wasn't her memory...

'Isn't it?' the voice in her mind asked. No... It wasn't, it was-

' _It's mine,_ ' a surprised voice from far in the distance whispered, but again it was just the wind.

She was starting middle school now, and the memory had returned to normal. She was dressed in her white sailor's uniform and cheerfully running outside to join her father in the car, in their new house in Domino. They'd moved away from Domino shortly after she met Yugi. But now that she was twelve, her mother wanted a sense of stability so she'd moved back, enrolled her in school.

And her father unbeknownst to her, wouldn't be there to drive her to school after today, only her mother. This was his last day before he would be posted.

Yugi went to her school as well. But he was in a different class, always in a different class, in the first year, the second year, the third... She'd occasionally see him, visit him in those early months during lunch break but as time passed they grew apart.

She had friends to spend time with, so she stopped visiting. Stopped saying anything more than 'hello, how are you?' in the mornings, paying more attention to her own life. And as she visited her father for her last middle school year, boarding the plane to the USA and listening as he told her about a new 'musical' they would see...

She could hear the sound of gunshots each one fired by the men at her sides, the men under her control. She wanted to know where her sister was going, where she had taken those tablets, what she planned in Japan. As the people fled into the plane one man stepped forward, one man, and the bullets pierced the skin, and the hospital's ambulances arrived as the plane took off and she spat on the ground, leaving in a swirl of dark violet fabric...

Hang on, she thought to herself with a jolt, this wasn't-

Real?

One man spoke from the hospital bed, a golden eye across his brow. _'July 19th, eight AM the tournament will start. The pharaoh will be there, as will his priest._ ' The nurse tending to him nodded robotically as the eye shone from her own, and she left the room, left the building, walked into the park with her phone in hand...

_'We move now_.' No...

No it wasn't-!

This wasn't right Anzu told herself, shaking her head even as her 'body' nodded and grinned viciously at the knowledge that 'her' plan would be carried out soon enough. No-! This wasn't her memory, this wasn't it...

' _It's not,_ ' a shocked whisper told her, somewhat stronger than it had been before. _'It's not,_ ' it pressed fearfully, ' _It shouldn't-_ ' What was that?

Just the wind.

She was back in school, Middle School, second year instead of third this time, and she and Yugi were both staying after school to clean. Talking again, catching up on old times...

As they walked back home before taking their separate ways they passed a sandbox, staring momentarily at the place they used to play and there was sand everywhere, _everywhere she looked, nothing but sand and the stiff stench of the underground, and did she hear hissing_? Her father stopped by at that moment; he was on a motorcycle, a rental for while he was in the area.

'Anzu!' he called out with a laugh, pulling his helmet off as the girl looked over. 'How's my little peach?'

She'd huffed, crossing her arms. 'My name means 'apricot' tou-san!'

'Ahahaha, but peach sounds nicer hn?' Anzu continued to huff, before her father held out a helmet. 'Do you want to go for a ride before I go?' Ah...

She'd agreed, said good-bye to Yugi after that.

After all how often did her father visit outside the Golden Week, and _didn't the wind feel nice through her hair, feel just wonderful as the wind blew and the sound of the motor rumbled on the cycle beneath her body, and wasn't it great now that she was finally free, now that it was finally..._

Hers? "This isn't right," she told herself, clinging to her head as sand penetrated her vision and darkness filtered in, blinding her eyes as they became familiar to a dull glow that she would never have been able to see through before. Not right! "This isn't my memory!" she whispered in panic, candle light filling the air around her as she curled in on herself. "It's not..!"

So then whose!

_'Stop thinking,_ ' that same voice from beforehand begged, sounding like nothing more than a faded shout from behind her. 'Stop thinking about it!' it cried desperately, warningly, ' _You'll only make it worse-_ '

Scared.

She was scared she knew that much, but what of? And where...

Where was the voice, she asked herself. Where was the voice, it's just the wind she was told, but it was there wasn't it, stop thinking about it he cried, where...

Where..!

"I'm scared," she whispered, but not to herself. A tall man stood before her, a tall young man holding a candle as she sat on a bed of stone and hay. "It's coming... And I'm scared," the girl continued to whisper despite these not being her thoughts. "I... I saw his back. Have you seen it? There are many lines, and many writings... They told me it will hurt," she continued with a choke. "That it will hurt for months. I don't think I can do it brother. I'm scared... I'm..." Why was she scared?

Why was she talking about brothers she didn't have one, she didn't, stop thinking about it, the voice warned, stop thinking, this path is too-

She wasn't wearing anything now she realized coldly, a sudden sense of immobilization pulled over her as she stood there and held her arms close for warmth. She couldn't move her arms. She couldn't move her legs. Something was in her mouth, and yet there wasn't.

Fear fell over her, endless fear, she couldn't move, she couldn't move she couldn't move-

"Great Gods and Goddesses who watch over us," someone chanted, the fear increasing as words in a language she should never have known came through the air, "We ask that you guide this blade as we follow the commands of your children, as we follow the commands of the Great King and Queen..." Who...

Who were they talking about, she asked despite herself, eyes dancing around the darkness in terror as she stood immobilized, who were they-

Suddenly who they were and where she was didn't matter, not at all as her back arched and she fell to her knees. "GH-GHHH _HAAAAAAAAAHHHH_!"

Burning pain seared across her back, and as candle burned at the side the hot knife dug into her skin, despite the weapon never once appearing in reality while the blood dripped down her back. "HH-KRAA _AAAAAHHHH_!"

"We carve into our flesh these memories," they continued to chant around her, the blade digging further and further and further... "These words, that they remain immortalized..."

"KHAAA _AAAAAHHHH_!" Stop it...

Someone stop it, please stop it _stop it stop it stop it_

' _Anzu...!_ ' Who was that she thought dimly through her screams, who was calling her, who was-

"We swear by our blood and souls to always serve," they were hissing, "To always guard these records-" The pain didn't stop, never stopped as she cried and as her fingers dug into her arms. The burning never stopped, the dagger kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming-

"Anzu!" a voice shouted as she wailed, and as the fires seared the wounds, and as skin was pulled away to force a scar that blackened and darkened under the flames. "ANZU!" the now clear voice cried. "ANZU!" Strong arms were pulling her close as she screamed, wrapped around her shoulders and torso. Strong and sun-beaten arms as her head continued to tilt upward in her screams, unaware that what she thought was there were simply coiled scales. She could hear crying as the pain continued, and as the blood dripped off her skin...

The knife had begun to cool now.

The chanting paused and slowly, slowly she opened her eyes to stare up at the darkness, the blade having momentarily retreated. "G...Gnn..." This voice...

He was muttering, muttering apologies, muttering...

"R... en?" she whispered, recognizing the sound. But... No, she told herself as tears continued to pour down her face. It wasn't...

Blond hair came to the back of her mind along with dark skin in the place of scales despite the serpent that was coiling around her protectively, and still the quiet weeping continued.

"...Malik..."

"It's not real," he tried to assure her, the serpent's head bowed down to lay on her shoulder. The snake's coils tightened... As did the second grip, the two arms that brought with them a head in that same place on her shoulder. "I'm here," Malik whispered again, "But it's not real. These aren't your memories... You weren't supposed to see this," he rambled on as he pulled her back and into his arms in comfort, "Never supposed to see... This isn't _real_ ," he repeated to the woman, still crying. "It's not real..."

Malik.

The one they had warned her about.

The one who had done all those things.

The one who was 'Namu'.

"You're... You're _him_ ," she choked, still looking up at the sky as the feeling of scales vanished and left her with the tanned Egyptian behind her.

"I know," he whispered, "I know... And I'm sorry," the blond continued, "I'm so sorry... But you need to realize it's not real," he pressed hurriedly, "And that this isn't-"

The chanting began again.

“Hear our words o Gods above," they whispered, Anzu's eyes widening as what was about to come came to mind again. "Goddesses who watch over our tribe, we carve into our children the words of history,"

The knife dug into her flesh and screams pierced the air again, the woman unable to block out the memories that were not her own.

"It's not real," Malik whispered with panic, pulling her tightly close, "It's not-"

But to her it was. It was all real, just as real as everything else that had happened and...

And...

"GHHHAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Just as real as the warnings she'd received, as real as the blackout she'd been having all evening.

"AAAAAAAUUAAAAAAAAA!"

Just as real as the mind-controlling man holding her close, telling her to just calm herself, to clear her mind.

It was all real.

"Don't cry Anzu," he wept, head still laying on her shoulder, "Don't cry..." He was still holding her, telling her he'd never leave-

"UAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

As real as the blackouts and the gunfire that took down her father.

"Don't cry..." He was sobbing, his tears were falling on her shoulders and her blood was staining his clothes in return-

"AAAAAAAAAAA!"

As real as the lies that Jonouchi told her, as the lies he'd used when he could have just told them ' _she's still possessed_ ', the lies he could have tossed away to save her.

"Don't..." She couldn't hear herself think, she couldn't, and was it just her or was someone else there-

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Who, she asked herself as the blood continued stream down her back.

Who was she supposed to hate?

"UAAAA _AAAAAHHHHHHHH_!"

* * *

"Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Keiichi watched in silent horror as the madman far ahead of him laughed, continued destruction filling the air as turret after turret that appeared in an attempt to thwart his efforts was forced to crush inward on itself by the power of the millennium rod. None of this should have been possible he told himself with a swallow, following silently behind as shrapnel littered the ground, forcing him to dog his steps in an attempt to avoid detection. None of it, nothing should have been possible.

Magic didn't exist except in fairytales and answered prayers, there was no 'dark power', no 'evil force' in the world of 'today'. At least that's what he wished he could believe.

It was a little hard though, given what was going on directly before him.

Keiichi swallowed as the millennium rod twirled in Malik's hands, footsteps silently moving across the ground while smoke arose from the littered scraps at their sides. He had his bag on his back right now, and his deck and jacket were still inside. But his duel-disk, completely empty, was now sitting awkwardly and incorrectly on his arm in its 'dormant' position, gripped tightly like some bizarre hand-blade.

Sweat was pouring down his face and sides. Probably more from fear than anything really, but even so he found himself wiping it from his face with a swallow. The boy forced back another wave of fear with the same motion, moving forward as sudden cursing met the air from the room before him.

"Of all the accursed- a LOCK!?"

Malik seemed to laugh in incredulity, sounding almost enraged despite this apparent amusement as he held his head.

"They think to keep me out with a mere LOCK?"

Keiichi again swallowed as he moved forward, slowly entering the room where Malik now stood. It was a large room. A wide and expansive glass window stood at the side directly across from him and a multitude of now out-of-date and somewhat weakened looking machines lined the wall both beneath it and at the side. Directly across from him however, between these machines and himself was Malik; standing with the rod in hand, holding it toward the large and steel built door as he prepared to-

"Stop."

Malik turned at this, Keichi swallowing a rush of fear as the teen faced him with a growing and manic grin. What was he doing, a voice in the back of his mind shouted in fear, limbs trembling as he bit back a swallow. What did he think he was doing, standing before this-

' _Fear_ _not_ ,' another voice whispered, an almost ghostly presence flowing over him as he held his breath. ' _You will be safe_ '.

But who said that he asked himself, the cold across his chest increasing as he shuddered. Who...

Malik chuckled as he stared down the shivering boy before him, stepping toward him to hold out the accursed rod and spin it in his hands. "'Stop'?" he repeated, the grin widening as his eyes did the same. "And what makes you think I'll do that?"

Yes what _did_ make him think that he stood a chance here? Hell he was screwed, screw-

_'Fear_ _not_ ,' the voice was repeating softly, a second wave of slight calm washing over the boy. ' _Fear not, for you are safe..._ ' Don't be afraid he told himself alongside this voice, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid...

"I don't just think it," he said with a swallow, shifting into a battle ready stance with his empty and bare arm forward in challenge, somehow able to bring up the boast despite his obvious terror. "I know you'll stop... Because I'm going to make sure of that."

Malik appeared almost frozen in shock at the statement. His grin stiffened on his face, and all at once he howled with laughter, his 'challenger' tensing in response. "Ahaha... AHAHAHAHA... HAHAHAHAAAAAA! YOU?" he cried out, holding his head a moment as he cackled and tightened his grip on the rod. "YOU think you can stop me?" Impossibly the grin became even more crazed, eyes widening as the millennium rod seemed to glow, held forward in a tight grip and shining in an unseen light. "Hnhnhnhnhn... You're nothing but an ant," he sneered viciously, "A mere-"

Malik's grin faded part way through the sentence, the blond freezing a moment. Keiichi as well found himself narrowing his eyes as the teen suddenly frowned, the Egyptian looking to the item in his hands with wide eyes.

"Impossible," he spat, a faint chuckling echoing over the air as the voice calmly reminded him of his safety once again. "IMPOSSIBLE..! Why... Why isn't it working..?" Because...

Because he was 'safe' he told himself, a small smirk coming on his own face as his confidence returned. "Hn... Who knows," he responded, his stance steadying as the smirk was replaced with a frown. "But it doesn't change what I said. I'm going to stop you!"

More shock, but this time the amusement was no longer there.

"You... Stop ME," Malik roared, all humor lost as he pulled the end of the millennium rod off to reveal the gleaming blade to his opponent. "You stand here with a duel-disk, having never even qualified for the final rounds," the blond hissed, "And you think to stop me? I THINK NOT!"

...Now, he thought to himself as the taller teen ran forward, blade pulled back just briefly before he swung it forward. Now, he thought as he kicked backwards with a slight grunt, a slice appearing across his cheek as he pulled back to avoid the blade, the rod swung backward in an arc before making its return.

_Now_!

With a swift click the duel disk was activated, his arm thrown forward as Malik moved to make the second strike from a slightly weaker position. And in a single moment everything changed. The blade was caught between the sides of the disk as they slammed forward, attempting to lock in on themselves only to vice the blade between them. The disk pulled back, ripping the Millennium Rod from a somewhat loosened and shocked grip while the arm holding the disk pulled back as well.

And as Malik prepared to retaliate Keiichi's fist flung forward, striking the nearly half-foot taller teen in the face with one quick and enraged cry. The blond stumbled back just slightly under the blow...

But he wasn't done. With a shout the dueldisk- the long end pointed forward in its 'incorrect position'- struck, slicing the side of Malik's cheek as the blond again stumbled back in an attempt to avoid the blow. Briefly, just briefly the teen seemed surprised. Horrified even...

But as he touched his cheek, looking over the small bit of blood that resulted from a cut that was far less severe than that of the one on his opponent Malik grinned, rubbing the blood in his fingers with wide eyes. "Hnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... You... You _cut_ me," he hissed, slowly continuing to chuckle as the millennium rod clattered to the ground. "You-"

"HAA _AAAAA-AH_!"

A swift roundhouse kick struck Malik mid-sentence, throwing the blond back against the computers as weakened and possibly corroded metal caved in beneath him as a result. The teen coughed somewhat, but as he pulled himself forward Keiichi continued to strengthen his resolve, preparing for what was next.

"Maybe I should have mentioned 'how' I was going to stop you," he hissed, spinning his now bloodied and somewhat dented duel disk as he held it forward like an oddly shaped blade. "As a duelist, I have my pride," he growled, eyes narrowed. "But as a second dan Kendo master," the boy snarled, "I have at least the knowledge that I can take you down without sullying that duelist's pride that I have! HRHHAA _AAAAHHH-_ "

He should have known, he thought as he charged, his opponent hurriedly pulling to the side as the blade sliced through a number of metal panels and ruined sparking cables. He should have known that this wasn't it, that this wasn't how it would end.

That it had gone too quickly.

That Malik would retaliate as well.

In a single instant as Malik moved from the blow that was now being pulled back, he held his hand forward. And as Keiichi brought his arm back and up to strike yet again something sliced against the side of his arm, forcing him to pull it back with a hiss and clutch it tightly as something wet met his fingertips.

As his own fear forced him to stumble backward in shock. This wetness...

Blood, he realized with wide and terrified eyes. Blood, like what was still dripping down the side of his cheek, this was...

As Malik stood before him, and as he stepped back, the two began to pace around the other, Keiichi's thoughts spinning in his head. And while the taller licked the blood from the Millennium Rod's blade he could hear laughter, endless laughter echoing around the room.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... This is just the beginning," Malik hissed, spinning the rod in his hands as his opponent hurriedly took a defensive stance and continued to pace around his opponent. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Are you hurt... _Little mouse_..?"


	26. Seance For the Self

"Are you hurt, _katan akhbar_?"

For some reason he knew what these words meant as he stared down at the small boy before him, stood with his back to the now mutilated corpse of the crocodile as the dragon in his shadow took his meal. As he stood in the place he'd walked to from the car (car..?), from the canal (canal..?), and from everything else he'd been questioning.

The boy before him said nothing however, merely staring up at him in apparent awe and horror both.

So he repeated his words. "Are you hurt, 'little mouse'?"

The boy shook his head, swallowing uneasily. There was a large gash on his face from where the rock he'd fallen upon had torn the skin, the reddened rock just a pace or so away from his feet. Blood was dripping down his face now... It was really quite the wound. However, the boy insisted.

"I'm... I'm fine," he said with a swallow, grey-white hair sticking to the bloodied tissues as he edged away from the young man standing before him. "I'm alright, really, I..."

"What's your name?" he asked, stooping down as he held his staff loosely and met the boy's gaze. "You're from the village right? The one just west of here?"

He nodded shortly, seeming to attempt to listen to his rescuer. But his eyes kept drifting back to the disappearing corpse behind him, to the vanishing crocodile that the unseen dragon continued to devour. "...How are you doing that?" he whispered in horror, unable to tear his eyes from the sight any longer. "You... Are you the 'demon'?" he asked with a panicked whisper, "Are you the one they warned us about..?" Us..?

Of course he thought with a sigh, shaking his head. The village children. The parents of the children. Everyone...

Katsuya shook his head despite the memory not truly being his, pulling the dragon back within his shadow despite not really knowing how he could do such a thing. "I am," he said shortly, the boy drawing back with horrified eyes, "The one they speak, of I mean."

"Then," the boy whispered in horror, "You're going to kill-"

"I am no demon," Katsuya responded quickly, cutting the words off. The boy swallowed, as though confused. Staring with mixed fear and bewilderment as the man before him sighed.

Shaking his head Katsuya stood, leaning against his staff somewhat while the boy spoke. "They say that you're a demon," the boy said with fear, slowly pulling himself back. "The elders, I mean."

"That's because the elders are senile," Katsuya muttered under his breath, before looking down and crouching yet again to peer worriedly at the boy's wound. "They seem to think that if they can't hear the voices of the souls within that it's all 'dark' and 'evil' magic at work... Fools."

"Souls?" the boy asked curiously.

Katsuya nodded, placing his staff at the side. "That's right- everyone has a shadow," he explained carefully. "A part of their soul that protects them from harm. It grows with them, changes with them... And some," he continued, pulling out some cloth and dipping it in the waters beside them, "Are stronger than others. But most people don't know themselves enough to see their shadows anymore," the young man continued, shaking a few droplets of water back into the river. "They live their entire lives and never see it. My shadow," he continued seriously, the dragon in question poking back out from beneath him to curl around the grounds, "Is the one who saved you. I helped- but my shadow is the one who did it."

The boy swallowed in confusion yet again again, bowing his head before flinching as his savior attempted to clean the wound on his face. "Gn-!"

"Hn... I'm thinking that's going to scar," he muttered, shaking his head before continuing to try and clean the boy's wound. "...What did you say your name was now?"

"Saraph," the boy muttered, batting the cloth away with a wince as he frowned. "And what do you mean scar?"

"I mean scar. I'll even check again," he continued, squinting at the wound before smirking light heartedly for a moment. "...Yeeeeeep. That'll probably end up as one."

"What? A scar on my _face?_ " the boy protested loudly, before leaning back to groan. "Maaaan..."

Katsuya laughed, shaking his head as he ruffled the boy's messy hair despite protests. "Hey hey now, don't be too upset, it could have been worse! Besides... It looks cool," he continued with a grin, pulling a scrap of fabric from his pouch, "And if anyone asks, you can say 'I got it in a sword fight'!"

"But I got it off that rock, running from the crocodile," Saraph protested, the long line on his cheek still somewhat bloodied even as Katsuya tore up a side of his sleeve to bandage it carefully. "It wasn't even something cool," he continued with a scowl, "Like the crocodile itself!"

"Ah, but if it was the crocodile, you wouldn't have lived. Besides," he said with a still wide grin, quite glad that he'd managed to save the boy, "They won't know that right?"

Saraph appeared largely unamused about this, crossing his arms as Katsuya stood before them.

"Now... Just what is a small mouse like you doing alone on the river banks?" he asked, crossing his arms as his dragon inspected the child in silence. "There are lots of crocodiles here this time of year; if not for me," the man continued seriously, "You'd be long gone ' _Merea_ '."

Saraph's scowl deepened, the boy crossing his arms. "Hn! I'm no friend," he snarled, huffing as he looked away. "And it's none of your business!"

"Ahhh? Is that how you repay the one who saved you?" he joked, prodding the boy's face with his staff as he scowled.

"Hngggg..." Still Saraph huffed, before muttering a curse under his breath. "Tch... I was going to follow the river to the capital," he shouted angrily, going somewhat red as he looked up at the much taller young man. Oh...

"The capital?" he repeated, eyes wide.

Saraph nodded, biting his lip. "My uncle... Well, 'mostly' uncle, Neker... He's worked there for a long time... But recently," the boy continued, "He moved there permanently. He said he'd send a letter... But he never did!" he protested, narrowing his eyes and kicking at the ground. "I waited and waited, but he never did! He lied..!" Maybe, maybe not...

But the capital... The man sighed, shaking his head and continuing to lean on the staff. "Ahhh... So you thought you'd find him yourself, not thinking that perhaps it would be a little difficult to find someone willing to deliver your mail from the capital to the village 'elna-am' any way... Which is hardly as pleasant as the name would imply," he added, leaning on his staff as Saraph bowed his head in embarrassment.

"Mggnnn..."

"What was that now?" he asked idly, raising his eyebrows.

"Thank you for saving me mister... Um..."

Katsuya rolled his eyes, sighing as he began to walk past the boy. "Names give power you know," he said idly, smirking at the boy behind him as a short bleat came out from ahead where he'd left his goat herd. "Don't think I'll be giving you mine so easily!"

"E-EH! But I gave you mine!" the boy protested, "And-"

"Ahhh, but you weren't thinking now were you, 'Merea'?" he continued with a chuckle, Saraph growing quite red in response.

"Oooooogh... You call me 'friend' after that!"

"Now come on... Don't be like that," Katsuya laughed, shaking his head. "And pick up the pace hm? You don't expect to see your 'uncle' by standing there do you?"

"AH-" Saraph jumped, running after his new 'friend' with a grin the moment he heard those words. "You... You mean you'll take me to the capital?" he asked, a few goats meeting his eyes as he chased after the young man, Katsuya merely walking calmly as his dragon floated in the air behind him. "You'll bring me there?"

"Well, I'll be speaking to your mother first," he said with a smirk, looking down at the boy with a wink. "And we won't be going to the capital right away. See all this?" he continued, gesturing to the goats that were slowly surrounding them in a cluster. "This is my herd; after your lovely elders banished me," Katsuya said almost bitterly, "This is what I started working on. It has its advantages," the teen continued, laughing as Saraph stared, "As now, I'm welcome everywhere!"

"Ah- everywhere? And they don't call you 'Itja'?"

"Nope. And they don't call me 'gannab', or 'kleftis' either," Katsuya told him as he grinned, the boy's eyes widening further in awe.

"Waaaaaaooooowwwww..."

"I have a 'route'," the teen continued to explain to the boy as they walked, bleats and hoof-beats surrounding them at all sides. "I take my herd from here through the south, as far as the southern kingdoms can reach... And once I'm done there," he told him, as he gestured about the area, "And once the year begins to reach its fullest season, I cross the nile and head back."

"AH- You cross the river?!" Saraph shouted in shock, his friend continuing to grin.

"Hehehe... That's right," Katsuya laughed, crossing his arms somewhat. "I travel along the other side of the river all the way to the delta for the dry season, and once I hit the middle of that one," he went on with another laugh, "I start making my way back... After crossing the nile again," he continued, looking down at Saraph with a smirk.

"Then... On the way back, if you're on this side again..." Saraph seemed to pause, as though factoring in what this meant. "AH... But that's an entire YEAR!" he protested, eyes wide as he groaned. "How are we going to-"

"Well... I'm sure I can find a way to send word to your Uncle while we're at it," the young man chuckled, the boy swallowing as their village came into view in the distance.

Great stone cliffs surrounded it- almost dragon-like in appearance, sheltering it with their great and huge bodies from sand and harsh winds. 'Elna'am', the 'Pleasant Village'. Known for welcoming those of all races all professions... At the cost of becoming outcast themselves. He knew this village somehow...

But...

"Now... Just where is your mother?" Katsuya asked, looking down at the boy as they came to the small village gates.

Saraph was only too happy to show him. Even as he received glares and jeers from the crowd for bringing back the 'monster'. Even as people spat in his friend's face, calling him demon and traitor as they went. Even as his mother gave him a narrowed glare from the entrance of their home, arms crossed as she dared the man before her to attempt to enter her home.

Zamarel was a fierce woman. Beautiful yes. But fierce as well, very fierce. She had narrowed eyes that almost reminded him of someone else, of someone...

With a ring...

His mind had thrown it out of his thoughts as they spoke however. As they discussed what happened at the river, with the crocodile and with Saraph.

As they discussed the real reason he was called 'demon'.

The elders of Elna-am knew what he knew about shadows, and about the souls that protected them. They knew their shadows and could call on them for aid, but to them the shadows were little more than tools. It was one thing to claim to converse with them, and to claim that they were more than mindless beasts- but it was another to claim that they had revealed to him the future, be it in a dream or a flash of light.

And in this case that future, what he had seen moments beforehand, had concerned Zamarel's son.

Saraph was supposed to die in that moment.

However he did not, not after his shadow had been ordered to do away with the crocodile that would have done the deed, not after his own guilty conscience forced him to turn against his dreams. Katsuya didn't know the effects interference would bring. He didn't know if it would curse the village or not, so he asked...

' _Just to be safe... And to give your son a chance... Will you allow me to take him as my apprentice?_ '

Zamarel, having little other choice in her mind, agreed to the request- and with that Saraph's fate as a tomb thief and guardian to the village had changed drastically.

The boy was ecstatic. All his life, people called him nothing more than monster, thief, scoundrel, save for when he was inside the village. Now however, he had a chance. He had...

As memories of travels passed, as growth passed, as dragons became visible and as laughter was shared, and as names became known, Saraph froze behind him, the desert air blowing coldly about them as the laughter died.

' _What will happen to me?_ ' he asked, face growing plain and almost emotionless as Katsuya turned to frown, eyes narrowed in confusion. This wasn't a memory, he told himself. This never happened...

This never...

So why?

' _They call me a thief. You and I say this isn't true. That we are destined for more in this place. But what will really happen in the end?_ '

They were at the stables on the exact opposite side of the village and the nile now, having managed to travel for almost two thirds of the year already. The sun had long since set beneath the horizon, and it was time to sleep. They were laughing as they approached the stables, talking about something, and then...

"AH- Merea!" Saraph shouted in surprise, looking toward the small light in the 'house', "There's someone inside-"

A shout pierced the air as they came over, and all at once a small girl fled from around the boy in fear. She screamed- Her white and tangled hair flew behind her, and in a single moment she found herself blocked by goats, by a staff...

And by a tall tanned young man with white-grey hair.

"Ah-ah ahh... Now what do we have here?" Katsuya asked, looking down at the girl with a frown. "A runaway?" The girl, who was abnormally pale for someone in the area, immediately shook her head.

"N-No," the girl whispered in fear, backing away as she swallowed, "I'm-..!"

A few moments of explanations and panicked mutterings later and they were seated in the stables, the shadow at his feet watching over the goats as the others sat along piles of straw in candle light. "So... 'Kisara' is it?" Katsuya asked, the girl slowly nodding as she bowed her head and looked at the ground nervously. "And just what brings you to the middle of nowhere?"

"They... They won't let me anywhere else," the girl admitted, biting her lip. "I..." She pulled away, shaking her head and hiding behind another pile of straw in the back room. "I... I won't tell you! You're both thieves... White hairs," she shouted, "I can't trust you!"

"AH- But you have white hair too!" Saraph protested, the girl merely sticking out her tongue as she huffed.

"I don't have eyes to match though!"

"WHAT!"

"Alright, alright!" he shouted, rapping both on the head with his staff, "That's enough!"

Kisara and Saraph... Never did get along really he told himself with a sigh, the memory of the rest of the evening rather small and faded from that point onward. But even so she travelled with them, that much his mind told him.

She had nowhere to go after all.

She was too pale for the desert, but too pale for those of the north, of Greece, as well. She was like them.

Outcast, from everywhere.

But they always argued, those two!

"You burn too easy," Saraph muttered as they travelled the delta, the girl clutching a large and oversized shawl they'd purchased for her while she waited outside the city they were in. She'd been sitting outside each village they entered due to her pale-skin attracting more attention than their own darker tone. After the stones had begun flying they'd decided it'd be safer.

The sunlight however was not helping things. "Well, she can't help it," Katsuya responded as the girl frowned at the earlier comment, before running ahead with the sheep and the dragon that she could now barely see the outline of in the shadows. "She's pale."

"She's an _anag_ ," Saraph retorted with a teasing snort.

"No, just pale. That's rare," he continued wisely, looking down at the boy and shaking his head. "Her soul is very pure. She's special, and powerful."

Saraph seemed to fall silent at that, looking to the side awkwardly. "...Then... What about my soul?" he'd asked, looking up hopefully. "My shadow?"

"Yours is powerful too," the young man responded honestly. "Very much so in fact; it's like you."

"Like me?" the boy asked.

"Yeah- open to change. Open to anything... Freed from fate, and able to decide wherever and whatever it does. That's your soul," Katsuya told his friend, still smiling as they travelled on.

"Ahhh..."

There were so many memories of these children, so many that were blurring through his mind as they walked...

Until finally they settled on one other one.

"This is the tale of the 'Dragon Knights'," he started late one evening, the trio having come to rest just a day or so outside of the capital they had so desired to reach. "It's an old story," he continued with a narrator's voice, "Passed down generation from generation..."

"AH- I've heard this one," Saraph shouted with wide eyes, looking forward in expectation. "This is the one where-"

"Shhhh! Don't spoil it!" he laughed, shaking his head. His shadow rose from his feet, but rather than taking the form of the familiar black dragon it shifted, changing as he moved his hands with it. Changing to create a flowing image as his staff twirled. "Now... This is a story from long ago... Before you were born, before I was born...

"Before much of the world was born... Long ago," he explained, "There was 'Light' and 'Darkness'. Two beings created out of chaos, each in constant battle. And between them, for despite their hate they could never pull away, they created their children- the 'shadows'...

“The shadows were a powerful people. Not one was the same as the other, and they were always fighting, much like their parents. However they did so with honor, as though it were nothing more than a game to them... But while the Shadows lived peacefully, Light and Darkness grew tired of the other. Separating from the other... And in her spite, Light took the shadows from Darkness, and from them created a new race and realm to mirror them. Her own race; the people of light. Animals of all kinds and humans to care for them, all in a world much like the one we live in now... That is how our people came to be...

“Darkness did not like this though," Katsuya explained, unsure of how he knew this old and oral tale that he was so easily spinning with shadows in the air. "So in spite, he planted a seed in each of the light one's hearts... And as Light found this, he told her bitterly that one day, all that she owned would be his. But Light had another idea; she bound each of her children to a shadow by creating a path between the realms, tasking them with the continued creation of each other, one to protect the other and live on. This way, she told them, they would be safe from the darkness. And it was through this that they thrived," Katsuya went on, the shadows dancing as the children stared. "That they formed a great and powerful civilization, conquering even the seas with their power. But it was a peaceful civilization," he stressed, the image of the city briefly appearing in the shadows in the air. "One without wars, at least not 'real' ones. They had their fights for the sake of the shadows, but it was all a part of their game, and all a part of the fun they had in life."

"And the knights!" Saraph began impatiently, before being cut off by a hand.

"I'm getting to it..!” Katsuya chuckled, shaking his head as more memories than he'd ever hoped to unlock flowed through his mind.

"Among the warriors of this civilization, there were two who stood tall and proud, two who guarded the wise family that reigned over them. The Knights of Fire and Ice, of Water and Wind... Two great and powerful warriors who trained under one of the few unbound shadows of their time, the 'Dragon', 'Gaia'... In training with him," he explained mysteriously, "They themselves became dragons... Merging with their shadows to become something beyond themselves, to become 'whole souls'... Humans with the ability to become dragons in their own right, to soar among the skies with shadows!

“But it was in this time that darkness arose. For Darkness created his own children," the goat herd went on, "Three powerful beings to fight those of the light. And as a result, there were many battles to be had... One would cripple both sides completely, scattering the Light's forces to leave her people to defend themselves... And another would be lost to the depths of time, but the one that we know of was far worse. Darkness created three powerful beings from himself," Katsuya explained. "Ziz, the shape-changer, he who was 'divided' with Light in one great battle that is so drastic in origin that it is forbidden to speak of... Behemoth, the giant, he who was cast into the depths of the earth, sealed away by the 'Ancients', the people created by Light... And finally the third great evil, who chose to bide his time to corrupt each seed within the Light's hearts... A great and vile serpent, against whom none realized his plans until it was far too late. Nonetheless as they fled with what few people they could save the dragon knights rose up against the monster, and with their blade, banished the villainous and mighty-"

"LEVIA-"

"APEP!" Saraph jumped at that, Katsuya's shadows briefly melting down as Kisara looked forward with a grin. "The endless serpent... Apep! They fought that thing?" she asked with shining eyes, hands held to her face. "Waaaaaaoooow! That's amazing, that-"

"It's called Leviathan," Saraph grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked away with narrowed eyes. "Not 'Apep'..!"

"Of course it's Apep," his friend protested loudly, "He said it was a great and vile serpent! That's what Apep is!"

"It's Leviathan!"

"Apep!"

"Leviathan!"

"APEP!"

"LEVIATH-"

"ALRIGHT! We have a long day tomorrow," Katsuya laughed, herding the children into the small stable he'd set up in the area as he sighed. "How about we sleep?" In the end, that was what had happened really. They'd still argued before finally getting their shut-eye of course, but at least they were quiet until they reached the capital the next morning.

At least until they met with 'Mahaad', and with his cousin 'Mana'. Not to mention with the very princess of the palace, the daughter of the High Priest, the cousin to the recently born Prince himself... The girl known as 'Sett'. Granted the so-called Princess was only five years old and so shy she could scarcely speak, but nonetheless- it was quite a rare opportunity.

And the fact was had it not been for that meeting they'd have never gotten in.

Mahaad took them to the palace aide and scribe Nekhetep within the gates, a young half-greek with long and pale hair. Nekhetep took them to the astronomer's office within the palace bounds, where a young, barely seven year old boy with hair and eyes almost identical to his and Saraph's own led them away to the private study of the man they were searching for. And there they met with the astronomer himself, the one whose name meant 'misfortune', the one who had escaped the fate of all those from the village Elna'am in a complete twist of chance.

"I greet you, _merea_ ," the man said with an honest smile as they entered, standing from his seat to bow as he smiled. "It has been a while... I assume you're doing well if you can wear such a coloured cloak," Neker laughed, Katsuya shrugging as he looked over the bright red cloak in question.

"Ahhh, I only just got this moments ago from a trade," he laughed, shaking his head as Saraph looked up in what seemed to be awe. A very good trade, within the palace he might have added. For the moment though the kids took priority, and though Kisara had since been pulled away by the two young five and four year old girls they'd met earlier, Saraph was still at his side.

"M-Merea!" the boy said with a swallow, eyes wide. "You... You know Uncle Neker..?"

Katsuya smirked, crossing his arms as he and Neker spared the boy a short glance and chuckle. "I do," he said plainly, the smirk growing. "He's one of the few who wanted me to stay before I left."

"If only because your words had more logic than the spoon-food the elders taught," Neker snorted, shaking his head as he changed the subject. "Now... I see you met my son," he chuckled, hands on his hips as Katsuya nodded.

"I did; a nice boy," he continued, "Though his eyes seem a little..."

"Blue? That would be his mother," the astronomer explained, chuckling somewhat. "A wonderful woman, she came from the northern lands as a 'gift' initially... Though she was not particularly pleased about this." Oh boy. That must have been...

Neker quickly caught the look on his friend's face, shaking his head. "There's a happy ending, don't worry... She appeared just shortly after we saw each other last, having fled the capital all together; we met, married, and... Well," the man went on, coughing somewhat awkwardly, "You can see what happened. Eventually soldiers from the capital caught wind of where their ambassador went, and after a number of passed messages we came to an agreement. Which, I am sure you can see the result of," the man chuckled, Katsuya shaking his head.

A job, house, and life...

He could see the results indeed. "I can- out of curiosity though," the goat herd continued as he gestured to the son in question, "What is his name?"

"Anesi," his friend responded, looking back up from the sky charts he'd moved to gather from the table. "Chorona's language... It means 'comfort'," he continued with a slight nod and chuckle, Katsuya blinking in response. Comfort..?

Hang on...

He looked back to the boy that was sitting at the window at the far end of the room, who had taken off his protective keffiyeh to reveal more of the white hair they'd spotted beneath the folds of fabric. This style...

This face...

"...Comfort?" Katsuya repeated, almost shaking his head in confusion as the scene appeared to freeze. "In our language," he continued quietly, "That would be..."

Would be...

"Do you remember now?" Saraph asked blankly, Katsuya turning back to him in fear as his image flashed between himself and white, himself and 'Seraph', himself and- "What will happen to me?"

This...

Sand-beaten clothes finally died out to become replaced with a white suit, and Seraph's grey and emotionless eyes stared forward as a dull breeze blew. This feeling...

The boy continued on.

"What will happen to _you_?"

This-!

With a rumbling cry he could feel his memories scatter as he realized just how and why he had been able to recall so much of this 'past' that he had never known. As he realized just why his mind was suddenly flowing in a proper order, devoid of confusion of surrealism...

His feelings...

His memories his feelings his thoughts his feelings, his feelings, _his feelings.._!

And the name...

"Noah."

The scene scattered and vanished from sight as the word ran through the air, and the blond clutched at his head as he breathed laboriously. That name...

_Noah_.

The name sparked in the back of his mind, from which there was no connection to the white ghost, to his head, to his real body...

To the thing that had been roughly torn from his grasp...

To any sense of feeling, to any sense of self, to anything... Noah...

Noa...

_NOA_!

* * *

Though Noah was not a name that this mind was familiar with there was another, far more annoying one that was coming to the mind of a completely memory entrapped and confusion ridden one.

She was running.

She was late for something, something important she told herself as she entered the dream-like state of memory, messily cut shoulder length hair flying in the wind as she ran in her new white and linen robes. They were nice robes, of that there was no doubt. Far nicer than the sand-worn cloth she'd worn before. They were gift from her teacher, along with the materials in her arms and the building she was to stay in. A gift from the one she would now be apprenticed to, if only because he used this as the 'deal' to keep her secret. Her precious secret, the one that he had found out from where she had been studying in priesthood rather than that of the priestess' role.

Because that man could never know.

Not about this.

Distracted by these thoughts a quick shout came through the air, ankles catching on each other whilst she ran. The black scale that was braided and woven into a lock of hair clacked against the ground as she fell, papyrus scrolls and a small package of ink-stones and reed brushes scattering across the ground as she hissed in both anger and slight pain. "ACK- Shit, shit, shit," she cursed under her breath, hurriedly attempting to gather her things as a somewhat amused young teen stood across from her with a smirk

"Well if this isn't interesting," he said with crossed arms, white hair barely visible from beneath the keffiyeh over his head as he looked down from an already taller height than the girl. "Hello there little 'Set'... Funny how someone with a God's name can be so pathetic," the teen chuckled, eyes narrowed in apparent mirth as the girl scowled.

"Tch... Not now," she growled, pulling her things back as she stood up with narrowed eyes. She was twelve now. It had been two years since she moved from her already advanced classes of becoming a scribe to the demanding and constant lessons of a priest. One year since the visiting Priest Nekhetep of the Millennium Rod visited the temple and caught her secret. And it had been just a few weeks since, after receiving her apprenticeship, she moved to the capital to stay in the palace for her training.

And met this pain in Horus' ever sunny ass (forgive her for that one, Great Horus). "Ohhhh... Is that all you have to say to me?" the teen chuckled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Don't tell me you forgot my name," he chuckled darkly. "Anesi, remember? 'Aaaaa neeeee si'! It's easy to pronounce you know..." Hn!

"I know," Set muttered, narrowing her eyes. "I just don't care."

"Oh really? So the one with 'God's name is better than me then?" Anesi taunted, snorting as the smirk fell somewhat. Really... It wasn't as though she could help having such a name, cutting off the 'woman' part of it was one of the first steps to pretending to be a man while still protecting herself and her own name but...

"Hn!" Regardless of reasoning this was one real piece of work! "As if you're so much better!" she spat, Anesi rolling his eyes.

"Hn! Well... Let's just see, the list can go on and on... There's you, who came without warning from some hick-village in the far north of the desert," he began, bringing a finger to his chin in thought as the girl before him glared, "As opposed to me, who has lived in the capital my entire life. You started your apprenticeship... Oh, a few months ago... And I've been in apprenticeship to the great High Priest Akhnaden for almost six years," Anesi bragged, apparently quite proud of the fact that he'd been working with the man since he was barely of schooling age. "And speaking of 'apprenticeship'," the boy chuckled, his 'friend' and 'rival' scowling darkly as he continued on with a smirk, "My master is the King's very brother, and earned his role legitimately... Not like yours," the boy hissed, "Who was a mere scribe before receiving his item..."

"But it is still an item," she bit out swiftly, eyes narrowing still further in defense of her current teacher. "Therefore, given all that you said, and all of the obstacles myself and Priest Nekhetep would have surpassed, I am the more powerful." Ordinarily, she would have expected anger in response to such a remark.

That however, was not Anesi's style. "OHOHOH! You think so!" Anesi laughed, pulling back from the wall as he grinned. "My father is the palace's most knowledgeable astronomer... My mother a woman with equal status to the Queen herself, bearing none other than the Tauk! My path," the teen emphasized, "Has been set in stone. Yours," he snorted, the girl before him biting her tongue to hold back truths that would more than freeze her rival in place, "Is unlikely... I don't know why Nekhetep picked you of all people as his apprentice," the boy spat, "Particularly so soon after little 'Am' was killed... Ironically by an 'am'," he added with narrowed eyes, the idea of a lion eating his namesake sending a slight shudder down Set's spine as she stared in distaste. "But if you think in any way that you 'belong' here..."

The girl continued to narrow her eyes, clutching the items in her arms. Tch... So that was why her 'master' was in need of an apprentice. That was why he'd been so quick to make this deal... Well.

No matter then. "I still have a chance," she hissed darkly, eyes narrowed to mere slits. "If not more than you," the girl continued, "Who has yet to prove himself beyond 'royal life'..."

Anesi snorted, shaking his head. "Hn! We'll see about that... But when the time comes," he continued with a darkened smirk, "You'll know all too well who the superior one is! Who the 'real' Priest is, when I'm staring down at you with the Golden Eye!" The eye...

Gh..! She couldn't suppress the shudder for that one, despite her hatred for the motion and the show of weakness it brought with it. That eye. When she'd first come into the temple, first come into that building after fleeing her destroyed village...

When she saw that man, standing there as though nothing had happened...

When she saw that eye, that horrible eye staring forward, seeming to radiate with a darkness even without looking down upon her...

"Tch... You're a freak," she hissed, holding her scribal materials close as she shook her head and stepped around the teen. "To look forward to that kind of mutilation!" The girl hurriedly began to walk off after that. She was late she told herself with grit teeth, late for her classes, late for-

"At least it'll be an honourable one," Anesi shouted after her, the girl pausing as she looked back with narrowed and incredulous eyes. An honourable... "Unlike what you do!"

Set continued to freeze, swallowing a wave of fear as she stiffened and looked toward the teen. What 'she did'? She did nothing of the sort but...

Why was she scared she asked herself, standing stock still as the teen growled from across her. Why...

Anesi moved closer. "I've seen you you know," he sneered, a wicked smirk on his face as he loomed above the girl. "Washing those clothes... Covered in blood... So where are the scars then?" he hissed, leaning in somewhat as she stared. "You're the only boy I know besides 'Mahaad' that wears a shirt," he continued, "And he at least takes his off once in a while. But you never take yours off... So what are you doing to yourself..?" Never-

He... He dared... She was washing her _personal_ garments- the cloth necessary at a month to month basis-

It was something that he would never come to assume should her facade hold, but for him to dare assume that she would scar herself so disgustingly all the same-!

"You... WRETCH!" she roared, throwing herself at Anesi as scribal materials clattered to the ground for her to send a fist into the teen's face. "You VILE, INSULTING-"

"That's enough!" a strong voice called out, the two quickly separated by a somewhat older teen's strong arms as they both struggled against the grip. One with a bloody lip, wiping his face as he was shoved off to the side. The other, herself, breathing laboriously as Mahaad shook his head and let her down as well. "Honestly... Act your ages, both of you!" he growled, dusting his hands off as he looked to the pair with narrowed eyes. "This is hardly what I expected of Nekhetep's new apprentice..."

Set said nothing in response to those words, merely swallowing as she looked away somewhat awkwardly from the teen. She remembered Mahaad, if not barely. From many years ago, many...

Just a faded memory though, so faded...

It was enough that she ended up with an incredibly large sense of awkwardness around him. She left without another word to continue her classes after that. And following her classes she went home in a still continuing silence, waiting for the sun to set.

And then that evening she went to the banks of the small nile inlet near her home, taking clothes in hand as she took her bath-

"...May Isis correct my vision now," a voice whispered from the side, the bag of forgotten ink stones she'd somehow left behind clattering to the ground. "You're-"

Set had given one look to the young priest's apprentice, the one who would receive the ring, the one she dimly remembered...

And forgot what happened next. Completely, and she wasn't sure why...

Time had passed from that moment though.

Mahaad kept her secret it seemed, though it developed a strange if not bitter relationship between the two. A rivalry perhaps. Mahaad, after all, knew what her identity meant. Knew just why she hid. Knew who she really was.

So he would say, ' _You could go to the Pharaoh, and completely avoid this sort of danger. So why hide?_ '

' _Because with this, no one will accuse me of reaching for the throne_ ,' she whispered in excuse. ' _I can be the shadow of the king and fight, rather than acting as a vessel for the next line._ '

She knew what would happen if she revealed herself. She knew how pure the line was meant to be. And Mahaad, evidently deciding that it wasn't yet time to argue against such excuses, appeared to agree. But then one night...

As she returned to the palace, having forgotten her materials of study for the evening someone bumped into her.

Someone with blue eyes and white hair, his keffiyeh falling to the ground to reveal the locks that were so often hidden beneath the hat. They'd spoken little after her first few months of tutelage, she and Anesi. She'd proven herself more than capable of the lessons learned after all, and of the tasks at hand. She was more than proving to be a challenge to surpass.

But despite what strange rivalry she and Anesi held, and how little she saw of him now, she knew him enough to still 'hate' him.

If at least somewhat. "Hn! And you call me clumsy," she growled, the fourteen year old girl watching as Anesi hurriedly looked back to his 'home' in a fear far unlike him before pushing the girl into the shadows and against the wall with a swallow. "G- WHAT-!"

"Shh! Shhh," he whispered hurriedly, moving frantically as he absently stepped over the prized keffiyeh he so cared for. "You... I know who you are," he warned, eyes wide with fear as she herself stared in both shock and disbelief. "I know of your origins," the teen continued with a frantic hiss, "And what you plan to do... But if you hope to live," Anesi pressed almost pitifully, "And if you know what is good for you, you will leave this place and you will run," he hurriedly told her, stepping back as shadows came around the corners. "You'll run and you'll never look back! He's already gotten my family!" Anesi cried, stepping back in panicked flight as the shadows came closer. "You're next!"

She never saw him again.

The soldiers had come by shortly after he vanished over the horizon and beyond the distant buildings, asking her if she'd seen anyone pass by.

"No," she told them dully, using a voice that she had slowly been working at with her teacher's guidance.

' _He'd have been strange,_ ' they responded quickly, as though to test her for information. ' _Skin like ours, but eyes like water and hair as pale as linen, paler than even those of the North._ '

"No," she repeated. "Particularly not anyone like that."

Why did she defend him...

And why...

Did she want him to come back?

The morning came all too soon after that. And as Akhnaden called together the council and their respective students, the Pharaoh seemed to stare at them all with blank and half dead eyes. Listening as his brother spoke, and staring at a now very much thinned crowd.

"I have called you all here to share with you a most grievous of events," he began, seeming to pace about the front of the room. "Most recently the palace astronomer known as 'Neker'... 'Tragoedia' to some," he continued, arms folded across his back, "Was, as you know, taken in for questioning in regards to a possible threat against the Pharaoh. He was found more than guilty," the man went on stiffly. "And after killing both of those whom accompanied me, it took all the strength of myself and Priest Nekhetep, to whom I currently owe my life for his interruption, to seal his monstrous soul into stone. Yet even with this defeat of a great evil, there is still more foul news..."

More news?

And just why would Neker, who had pledged a complete and honest alliance to the Pharaoh, suddenly decide to attempt murdering him?

Before these thoughts could be answered the High Priest continued to speak, Set swallowing almost nervously as she listened.

"It was decided that due to familial relations, the High Priestess Chorona and her son... My apprentice, Anesi," Akhnaden was saying, "Would be confronted for questioning on their knowledge of the matter. However I regret to say that we were... Too late," he continued, bowing his head in apparent grief. "It would seem that before his capture Tragoedia killed not only his son but also his wife. I regret to say therefore that we are here not to celebrate the destruction of a threat... Nor the succession of the priests and priestess involved," Akhnaden went on, "But instead to mourn the souls of four members of our court..."

. . .

... _Lies_.

As Isis, who was just a year or so older than herself bowed her head and shook, tears running down her face as she clutched her newly received Millennium Tauk, the word repeated in her mind.

Lies.

Chorona had been murdered.

She'd foreseen the event and handed her item to the girl before allowing herself to die to distract the soldiers.

Lies.

Anesi had fled, fled for his life and warned her before vanishing without a trace, spared only by his mother's sacrifice and his own clear head.

Lies.

Though Nekhetep seemed to accept these words he forever looked to Akhnaden with narrowed eyes when the man seemed to not be looking, taking extra caution when it came to her secrecy... And always making sure to never be caught alone with the man. Lies.

Lies.

Lies...

"Why did this happen?" she found herself muttering later on that day, standing in the hall with Mahaad as he fingered the ring that had formerly belonged to his father. He looked strange in the garb of the High Priest. With the head dress and gold accessories...

It seemed to suit him nonetheless though, and it made her feel miles behind her goal despite the teen having only received his item because of his father's death.

"I saw him... Anesi," she clarified as her friend frowned. "He was running for his life. Why would Anesi, Akhnaden's apprentice, be forced to flee when he scarcely met his father as it was? Why would he feel threatened by the man who effectively raised him for most of his life?" Why...

Why?

"...I don't know," Mahaad muttered after a moment, not looking to the young woman beside him. "Paranoia perhaps? Chorona seemed to be avoiding the High Priest as of late. There was fear in her eyes, and she was consulting her item more and more..." The teen dropped his ring, shaking his head as he continued to stare at the gold in silence. "...There is... A darkness within these items," he said after a moment, Set looking up with a frown.

"...Hn?"

"Something dark lies within these so-called treasures," Mahaad repeated seriously, staring at the object with narrowed eyes. "Something dangerous... Shada always mentioned these things after Adviser Shiamun passed his 'key' onto him. But it's a completely different matter when it's in my hands," he muttered, shaking his head as he looked to the ground.

...Was it now...

"So then... You don't wish to serve the pharaoh?" she asked darkly, narrowing her eyes as she looked to the teen.

Mahaad instantly turned to her with narrowed eyes, shaking his head. "Not at all," he protested, looking to the side with the words and biting his lip. "Particularly not in these times," the now 'High Priest' muttered. "...However..." He trailed off, staring down the hall with narrowed eyes before moving from the wall. "There's something I need to check," he muttered, shaking himself. "Something important..."

"Something..." Something important..?

And like Anesi she never found out what that something was.

She never even came close.

But shortly after Mahaad's time in classes turned to time spent in the records hall, and the Pharaoh left the kingdom in his wife and brother's hands, taking his son with him on a pilgrimage south to pray.

Where they went was unknown.

What they did was unknown, and the journey lasted a small number of months. But the Pharaoh returned with a grim look upon his face, and never spoke to his brother from that moment on. He fell ill...

And he requested an audience with each member of his council, along with the apprentice to the sole 'student rearing' member of his council. All others had succeeded their masters after all. Isis, Karim, and Mahaad on that one day. Shada long before.

And Anesi was long gone, never to be seen and leaving none to take Akhnaden's place should the man have mysteriously passed on.

In addition to all this, on the day Nekhetep was called for his audience, he too was gone.

For good.

She found his body when entering the classroom as it was called, a simple and open spaced room where Nekhetep would conduct his duties as priest and train her in those same roles. He was a 'High Priest' now after all. Her chances of success had risen, her goals and trials had risen in difficulty...

As had her risks.

And the threats. Against herself...

And against her teacher.

"Hah... Haa _ahhhh_..." Her materials fell to the ground as she came into the dark hall, the girl stumbling back as Mahaad came behind her only to stare. "Ahhhhh..."

"...Set?" he called out, the now fifteen year old girl across from him frozen in horror and unable to turn back to respond. "...Set?" he repeated again, walking closer before freezing as well.

Nekhetep was dead, and had been for a while. His body lay sprawled on the ground and the Millennium Rod was embedded in his chest, his head bowed over as if to pray for whoever had killed him. Her memories flashed...

Switching between a pair of scenes...

She was fifteen.

And then she was twenty five. Staring at a shaking teen with blue eyes and white hair.

Fifteen. The corpse of a pale man with equally pale hair.

Twenty five. The shaking continued, as did the ragged breathing as she attempted to calm whoever this man was down.

Fifteen... She was staring, shaking, and she just hated feeling this weak!

Twenty five...

" _I can't do it_ ," the young man whispered in fear, the Millennium Rod gripped tightly in his hands as he held the blade toward himself. " _How can you ask me to wield something created from the blood of my very ancestors..!_ " Blood spilled on the ground amid a shout.

Fifteen.

The blood had already pooled and was long cold.

Twenty Five.

" _No..!_ " The white haired man across from her, the last tie to the lost 'Anesi' thrust the blade into his chest...

Blood was warm and fresh and staining her robes...

Fifteen.

Someone had done this to her teacher, someone had killed him... But who?

Twenty Five. If she had just buried these items away none of this would have happened, and this time the 'murderer' was-

Fifteen. She was falling to her knees, Mahaad standing stock still as his apprentice, his cousin Mana, appeared around the corner before turning back to run for aid.

Twenty Five. The 'man', really just a 'boy' in his late teens, had collapsed to the ground bleeding, as she herself fell to his side with a shout only to find herself too late.

Fifteen. It was too late...

Too late too late too late...

Too late, and the face of Anesi's brother stared blankly forward as she closed her eyes and-

"Come here," a rasping voice muttered as she opened her eyes, still commanded by the memories of a life she completely denied the existence of a number of times before. The room she stood in now was dark, despite the sun shining outside. Curtains had been pulled across the windows, as the heat was far preferred compared to the sun in the eyes of the dying King.

She was the last one to see him other than the Prince. She was the last one called forward, and garbed in the somewhat ill-fitting clothes of the High Priest she came to the Pharaoh, her uncle's, side.

"...You wished to see me?" she asked, the voice of a 'man' meeting the air as she continued on with the facade that Nekhetep had taught her to uphold.

"I regret never doing this earlier," the man whispered, eyes somewhat glazed as he stared to the woman. "But it's too late for that sort of thing..." Too late?

"What is it?" she asked, frowning somewhat. "...What sort of thing, my Pharaoh?"

"Ohhhhh... You need not hide from me anymore," the Pharaoh whispered in response, shaking his head as he sighed. "Sett... If you refuse to stand in the place you were born to stand in," he rasped, "Then at least humor my final wishes..." What...

The Priest swallowed, unable to do more than nod as she stared. He knew... All this time he'd known and...

...And the man continued. "Look after my son," he whispered almost pleadingly. "Look after your cousin. No matter what, keep him safe... For I have done the same for you," he wheezed, eyes briefly closing over in some unseen fit of pain. "...Always remember that..."

She left shortly after.

And the Prince followed, for what would likely be the last time he saw his father breathing.

And finally as her subconscious thoughts continued to bite and scream, continued to wail ' _it's not REAL!_ ' she could see the face of the cousin she had chosen to serve. She could see his olive skin as they, the council and the royal family, were led through the funeral procedure. See his green eyes as he stared forward in grief. See the face...

Of her rival...

As green eyes dyed red, as dark skin paled to a lighter shade, as white linen became black leather, and as narrowed eyes shifted and turned toward her in recognition-

"This isn't real," she hissed, the memories around her freezing in place as a fierce wind began to blow around her. They seemed to almost glare at her as she spoke, and as Seto clenched her fists in rage a 'crack' echoed in the air.

These so called 'memories'!

This..!

"THIS. IS NOT. _REAL_!"

Thunder after roaring peal of thunder cracked through the air, and as though behind a series of mirrors she could see each shard of this 'reality' shatter before her. One mirror, two mirrors, three, four...

One after the other as clay bricks vanished, as white robes were destroyed...

She was a child again, dressed in those stupid capris and that moronic tank top she realized as the final mirror 'cracked'. She was standing in the kitchen of almost nine years ago, while her brother watched t.v. in the next room. She was trapped in a memory, a 'real' memory, and her body was forced to smile as she watched her father, her real father cook dinner. She was trapped in a memory and her brother was probably not even her brother. She was trapped...

And she was right back where she started.


	27. The Right Memory

In the world of her past, Seto couldn't help but find herself catching details that she had long ago missed during the time she had initially lived through the moment. Just little things, tiny things…

Comparisons she couldn't help but make at the moment, comparisons between things that she wanted to do nothing more than ignore. But as she moved it simply became even more impossible to do such a thing. She kept finding similarities between the people she knew in the present and the people she saw in those 'dreams', between people she saw in the 'memories' that didn't exist, and simply couldn't exist… No matter how 'real' they felt.

She hated this. Hated the feelings her past was throwing back at her, and the visions that she had long since forgotten as a child and was just now throwing from thought with the excuse of an overactive, childish imagination that she'd long since lost. Shadows arose around each corner where they shouldn't have, staring at her from afar... And as she looked at her younger self she thought one of them spoke, whispering to her, speaking to her as she stared.

Were the dragons always there, a naïve portion of her mind dared to ask. Were they always there, and was that one always in her shadow… Following her? Speaking to her?

Waiting for her to answer?

The shadows vanished after one single event, one simple event it seemed.

That car crash.

Her father's death, with the truck toppling over as vehicles behind it squealed to a stop. It was all just childish fantasizing then she told herself with a snort, shaking her head as she continued to move through her past in a body she'd long out grown. Nothing more and nothing less. A 'trick of the light', one could say. The wind, even. These things that she missed were of no use to her, she continued to tell herself calmly.

No use at all.

Even later on however, there were other things she missed.

But these things were far too serious to ignore. Things like the look on Gozaburo's face when she'd 'won' her match, the glimmer of some twisted form of success across his face as she prepared for what was yet to come. Things like the mutterings of the servants that she'd passed off as nothing to bother with, mutterings of a boy named 'Noa' and of resemblances, resemblances that she'd thought were being drawn between herself and her brother.

Things like the clothes she had been given already, some of which still seemed warm despite the intense cold they brought to her skin, and the strong scent of some other child. The seemingly pointless questions of hobbies, likes and dislikes, the constant disappointment expressed whenever those likes and dislikes were voiced at the dinner table…

The line of slightly paler skin where a wedding band would have sat, and the dust that had sat on the switch until the moment it was used. The case that had held it, about which maids had whispered ' _was always closed before they came, do you think it might be that the latch has broken_?'

Her memories were fragmented it seemed. Scattered across time and ordered in no particular path of chronology or importance. Maybe that was her own fault; how much did she truly want to remember after all? How much had she blocked from her mind, wishing for it to have never happened?

...Or maybe it was something else, her mind muttered. Who knew really. But for some reason, as she sank further into these thoughts…

Her memory cleared.

And rather than fragments, an entire scene opened before her.

She could remember Germany. The dinner party she'd been stuck attending, the one that they'd been invited to in regards to a recent agreement that Kaiba Corp and Schroider Corp came into.

"Seto, this is Siegfried," Gozaburo had told her at the party, a boy around her age and height standing before her with somewhat narrowed eyes as he studied the two 'boys' across him. "You will be working with him a lot in the future when you take over the company," the man had continued. "I expect you to get along well with him." Or rather ' _learn how he acted so you could take advantage of him_ '. She wasn't stupid. She knew how Gozaburo worked.

Or at least, she somewhat knew at that point.

Siegfried was the son of the woman CEO of Schroider Corporation, a company dedicated to developing battle ready defense systems and precautionary devices. His mother, Herja, seemed all too willing to let her son do as he pleased- if anything it seemed almost that as she led Gozaburo away to discuss a recent agreement their companies had met that she supported it. As the woman conversed with her business partner at the side the children had scattered, the youngest two taken away by a pair of maids to a room they could play in and Seto herself pulled away by the pale haired, pink clothed boy she'd only just met.

"Want to see something cool?" he'd asked in Japanese, Seto not wondering why the German boy would know the language at the time, or how he'd decided on that one over English. She'd supposed there'd been nothing better to do really though so she agreed, deciding that she would likely cause more problems if she refused for the moment.

And with those words Siegfried had led her to the side with a grin, plugging a small netbook into a panel on the side of the hall to the room. The pair were more than hidden in the dark of the hallway, illuminated only by the light of the netbook. And as Seto stared, she watched as the boy tapped a few keys and…

"AH!"

The lights blew out instantly, Siegfried quickly disconnecting the laptop and closing it over before the light gave him away.

The guests continued to scream.

"The power is out!"

"What's going on," others cried. "Who... How..!" But...

He'd only touched a few keys...

And the screen had clearly revealed that he wasn't being granted access to the system so-

"Ah… Siegfried," she muttered as her arm was pulled, eyes somewhat wide with surprise at the boy's apparent hack. "You…"

Siegfried chuckled at the reaction all the party goers were having, before pulling his 'friend' off to the side and up the stairs as she frowned. "Shhh," he whispered, still laughing quietly as they came out to the 'third' level of the building. "It's more fun to watch from up here, so keep quiet!"

"Up th- What?" she hissed, before cutting her words short as her question was answered. This...

The ballroom balcony.

The moonlight from the skylight illuminated both it and the panic below them in full, with people tripping over their dresses, spilling cocktails on the other… "Isn't this so much better than just waiting for our parents to finish talking?" Siegfried laughed with a grin, the light easily showing them who was who as those below scrambled. She'd said nothing for a moment. In fact she didn't say anything for the rest of the black out. But she had smiled at the chaos below, or so it seemed.

She hadn't noticed it...but the boy was right it was fairly amusing, given that she wouldn't be blamed for the event. And while they sat there in the dark a number of minutes passed, with the two staring down at the chaos and occasionally cracking a smile.

Only a short number though. "I should turn the lights back on," Siegfried had said after a moment after all, smile fading only slightly. "Before they realize it was done digitally." Yes. That would probably be a good idea…

Seeing how there was a maid whispering in Herja's ear at the moment.

The power out had caused a number of problems for their parents, or at least for Gozaburo. Herja didn't seem to be particularly affected by the event, though she did give a raised eyebrow to her son. Regardless of whether or not she knew however the damage from the temporary outtage had been done. The garage had, as a result of it, locked up completely- Which meant that their transport, which had been parked inside rather than outside, would be stuck in there until morning, when the failsafes turned back off.

Their 'father' needless to say, wasn't pleased.

"We'll have to spend the night in their guest rooms," the man had told them with distaste, pulling them to the side to give them, or at least her, their warnings. "You had better behave…"

"Of course, Tou-san." Of course she would- what did he take her for? She would stay in the guestroom for the night, and in the morning, they would leave. As it were, Siegfried had other plans- apparently his bedtime had been 'cancelled' for the evening.

Which meant he would be bugging them for all of it.

"Niiiiiiii-samaaaaaa!" Mokuba was shouting, running down the hall with Leon, Siegfried's brother at his side. "Nii-sama!" he continued cheerfully, having been completely assured that their 'father' would be in an opposite wing. "We're gonna go swimming!" the seven year old shouted, "They have an indoor pool with a waterslide and everything, and-"

"...Oops?"

The door had slammed open with those words before she could even protest, having barely pulled up her underwear as the three boys looked in the room. Leon's innocent comment was completely ignored, as was Mokuba's flushed apology- Siegfried's own statement had taken most of her attention.

"Aaaaah… So you are a boy then!" the tallest of the trio had laughed, eyes having honed in on clothing clearly meant for that very gender as Seto went red. "I had my doubts," he continued with a smirk, "You act a little like a-"

Girl? As if! "If anything," she'd growled dangerously, turning toward them with narrowed eyes as she caught the end of the sentence, "I would think that the one with PINK HAIR is the girl!"

"AH- N-Nein!" Siegfried shouted in protest, hurriedly clutching his head almost protectively. "I'm definitely a boy, this is just-"

"GET OUT!"

The door had slammed fairly quick after that, not to say she didn't end up at the pool in swim-shorts and a t-shirt anyway, courtesy of nosy Schroider brothers and the refusal to leave her in peace. "Hn! Calling me a girl… How do I know _you_ aren't one," she'd grumbled to her 'friend', the boy rolling his eyes from where he was carrying his brother around in the water.

"Oh please," he muttered, Leon sliding down the boy's back to swim off to the nearby slide. "My hair is not that 'girly'..."

"It's pink," Seto countered flatly, arms crossed from the lawn chair at the side.

"Blame my Vater," Siegfried responded. His father?

Hah! "It's grown to your back," she hissed.

"It's tradition!"

"You could at least tie it back or something," she muttered under her breath, the boy rolling his eyes and turning away with a groan.

"Aaack! Mein Gott," the boy sighed, swimming away. "It is useless, trying to reason with you!" Maybe. But that was just how she was.

Which was why she left the pool early, finding no use in watching as her brother splashed around with the two German boys from the sidelines when there was a trained servant at the side to act as a lifeguard. What was the point in it all anyways, she muttered to herself as she re-entered her room. They'd have to dry off, they'd get water over everything before that point, and in the end their 'father' would yell at them for acting 'childish' when he found out that they'd stayed up late to go swimming.

Because shudder to think a child would do such a thing, and want to play for once in their life!

Yet that never happened. Gozaburo never came across them, never found out what they were doing. So as she stood in the room she was going to use for the evening and changed out of her clothes, she felt herself relax for the first time in quite a while. Feeling prepared to have her first peaceful night of sleep in a long time...

Big mistake.

The door swung open as she grabbed her pajama pants and underwear from the side, and once again someone ran into the room before she could even make a sound.

But this time she wasn't wearing anything that would tell them something other than the truth.

"Seto," a somewhat accented voice cheered, "Hey, Seto! I was talking to Mutti and I wanted to know... If..." Siegfried's words fell short as he stared at the girl across from him, the eleven year old's face going beet red as he choked. "You wanted... To..." The boy coughed, finally halting all attempts at speech as the girl turned toward him with wide eyes. "...Ah... F-Frau... Lein..."

"GET... OUT," she managed to hiss almost murderously. "NOW."

The boy had done so without another word, and for the rest of the evening after her pajamas were on she waited on the bed with wide eyes. Waited for someone else to come into the room as she stared at the ceiling and clutched the blanket in fear. Waited for someone to shout, roar, to do anything, anything...

Waiting for Gozaburo, waiting for the switch, waiting for the deal to be cut short right then and there...

Waiting for Mokuba to be sent back to that place with her, where they could possibly be separated...

But no one came.

She spent a number of hours in fear before exhaustion knocked her unconscious, but no one came. And in the morning despite all the threatening looks she sent to the boy who now knew her identity, and all of the narrowed glares Siegfried was subjected to from those same eyes, she could not have felt more frightened. Her heart was racing. She was barely able to focus on what was happening around her, and then as the boy's mother left the table with Gozaburo she felt it stop for just a single moment. There...

He'd told his mother.

And now she was going to tell her 'father'.

And after that... Everything would come to an end, she thought to herself in panic.

_Everything_!

"Seto," the man called out from the other room, the girl walking in as she tried desperately to remain calm, or at least appear as such. "Frau Schroider would like to offer you a deal," he stated in English, any of those outside the room unable to completely understand them further than the name as a result. "Listen carefully." A...

A deal? They weren't talking about who she was? They weren't...

Then what were they...

The girl bowed her head shortly as a multitude of thoughts whirled through her mind, looking up toward the tall woman that was Siegfried's mother as narrowed but somewhat calm grey eyes stared down. "Seto," the woman stated with a just slight accent, arms loosely crossed over her waist. "Your father and I have decided that it would be beneficial if you were to spend the next three weeks in my home to learn more of the Schroider Corporation," she told her curtly, expression not once changing save for a slight change of the 'light' in her eyes. Three weeks...

...W...

What..?

Seto's eyes widened only slightly at the proposal and the woman continued. "You will be made to keep up with your schooling while away of course, as per your father's request... And during your stay your brother will remain as well, so as to lessen the pressure on him." Pressure?

What pressure? Not that she was complaining of course, but-

Gozaburo turned at the last portion of the agreement, frowning. "Mokuba as well?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes. "We never agreed on this, he'll only distract-"

" _I already told you,_ " the woman hissed in German, the language somehow translated through her memory by some unseen force as Herja's eyes narrowed even more than they already were. " _I will make certain that your son keeps his lessons in check. I will make sure to abide by the rules and 'guidelines' you have given me_ ," she continued fiercely, " _But I will not separate a pair of siblings. I will not betray your trust_ ," Herja warned. " _But remember just whose home you are standing in, and exactly how our companies came to be connected..._ "

At the time the memory actually occurred, Seto had simply thought that whatever Herja had said had 'impressed' her 'father'. That she had added something else to change the man's mind, to bend him to her will.

Gozaburo however had tensed somewhat as the woman spoke she noticed now, before giving his usual curt nod and regaining an apparent image of superiority despite his 'opponent' appearing taller than himself with her heels raising her above their near equal heights. "...Very well..." Ah- He agreed! "I will be leaving within the next hour," he said curtly, looking down to his 'son' before lowering his voice to a hissing whisper. "You had better behave..." Ah...

She would! No matter what, she...

"I will," she had responded, swallowing nervously. "No matter what, I will," she told her 'father' in an apparently confident tone. No matter what, no matter...

An hour passed and the car left with Gozaburo inside to leave for his private jet. Seto stood in the entrance of the mansion to watch it vanish before turning to the woman who had instilled this agreement, preparing for a repeat of what she received in her home...

But instead a hand came to rest on her shoulder, that same woman bending down somewhat to look upon her. And as she looked up Herja's eyes had softened, despite the severity that still lay behind them and in the apparently narrowed gaze. "I am no fool," she whispered almost warningly, the girl beside her narrowing her eyes somewhat in confusion. "You would do well to realize this..." Of course!

But why...

Why was she telling her... "I have created a schedule for you," the woman continued curtly, a maid moving from the side to bow politely as her mistress stood. "It will be sitting upon the wall within your room for the next three weeks. Do your work according to schedule," Herja explained, "And you will be allowed to use your remaining time as you wish. Lunch will be in one hour; I expect to see yourself and your brother at the dinner table in that time." Ah...

Very to the point. How.. 'German'. Of her. "...Of course," Seto said after a moment, bowing her head politely. "I'll be sure to follow these requests."

"...Good," the woman responded, before walking out of the foyer. She expected that schedule to be as ridiculous as her lessons were, having proceeded to walk back to her 'room' with a thick scowl on her face with eyes wide with rage. A schedule with time forced for tasks she had learned to complete within moments, but was still left to complete in the time frame lest she be stricken for 'slacking'. A schedule that would leave her locked in her room for hours with nothing to do, nothing to say...

However she was again proven wrong.

"...Why are they doing this," she muttered to herself, staring at the schedule in disbelief, eyes wide and quivering as she looked over the neatly handwritten tasks on the board. "...Why..." There was... Next to nothing. Nothing...

Each 'lesson' had been divided appropriately into slots, each day only holding approximately four hours of school work, and yet... Everything was there. Nothing had been cut, her lessons had merely been slipped into times that would 'make sense' for someone of her current education. And moreover...

There was a note at the bottom.

' _Should you complete your lessons early,_ ' the note read, her hands shaking as she held it, ' _Consider them complete for the day. There will be no additional work,'_ it continued, ' _Provided all is correct and in order._ ' This...

She would have at least five hours of free time each day. She would have. Five hours...

Of time each day... Five hours _at minimum_ each day, but Mokuba wouldn't want to spend that much time playing chess or capmon or whatever, and she wouldn't be able to handle running around as much as he did so... So...

So what was she supposed to do during that time, what was she supposed to do when she and her brother 'ran out' of things to do!

"Hey," a voice from the doorway said with a laugh, Siegfried leaning against the frame with a knowing smirk as she turned to face him with narrowed eyes. "You coming for lunch or not?" ...She...

She'd just have to manage, she supposed.

* * *

Somehow, that moron managed to get her in that dress on the second week there.

"You're kidding me," she growled, looking up from the book she'd been reading in their library when the boy suggested the act. "You expect me to wear that?"

"Technically," Siegfried responded curtly, gesturing to the somewhat lace-lined sundress, "I'll be wearing this one." He...

He was going to wear...

Seto blinked, putting the book down and staring almost owlishly at the boy in a momentary slip of emotional control. "...And you say you aren't a girl..."

"A- HEY! Watch it now," he retorted, eyes wide. "It's not like I do this all the time!" Oh really... "Now," the boy continued with a confident smile, "I got this one for you," he said with a grin, holding out a similar dress and hat. "It's even got a hat, so-"

Seto rolled her eyes as the boy looked down from the dresses in his hand, blinking at the snort she'd given in response. "Hn! Just what makes you think I'm going to even consider putting something like that on?" she growled, putting the book to the side before crossing her arms. Seeing how she assumed only Siegfried was aware at the moment...

Which was hopefully an accurate assumption...

The boy merely smirked, pulling the dresses back with a grin. "Because we're going outside," he said with a grin, his 'friend' frowning in confusion. Outside? It was true that Siegfried in fact had rules to obey; one of the only restrictions as it were, if it could be called such, was that they remain within the property's boundaries. All of them- she and her brother were no exceptions. The property however, was more than expansive. Forests, fields, a pond that they could dive in...

It was more than enough to simply sit within the grassy plains of those 'restrictions' to do her work in peace, or simply read a book as she was doing now.

More than enough. And this idiot still wanted to play 'hooky' and run away?

"Come on~," Siegfried continued to whine, the grin still on his face as he attempted to convince the girl. "No one's going to be looking for two girls! And besides," he added, leaning in with a whisper as Seto frowned. "When are you going to get another chance to wear one of these?"

One of _those_? "Tch! I don't even like dresses," she growled, pulling back somewhat as she shook her head. Siegfried appeared to deflate somewhat, pouting.

"Awww... But you're actually a really pretty girl," he continued despite the girl's scowl, "I bet you'd look nice..." She supposed she did...

She still couldn't quite remember how he'd convinced her to wear it Seto thought dryly, unable to feel completely enraged about the embarrassment of her younger self wearing something so ridiculous, but she supposed that looking back it was indeed somewhat nice. And the country they were travelling through...

That was more than worth the embarrassment that had no true legitimacy behind it. Garmisch-Partenkirchen was a small town that thrived on tourism for the nearby Alpine range of Germany. It was just a kilometer or so away from the mansion that Siegfried's family lived within, and it was a town that the boy was more or less familiar with, having apparently gone down a number of times before.

"So then you crossdress often?" she'd asked smartly as they hitch-hiked on a passing truck's trailer, the boy snorting in response.

"Hn! It beats sitting around inside!" Well...

...She supposed so. (And it wasn't as though anyone could recognize her now, given what she was wearing...) But thinking back as her mind 'translated' those occasional words she caught as they ran through that town... The words of passing town citizens and common residents of the downtown streets...

' _Ahhh, there he goes again_ ,' one would mutter, giggling to her friend. ' _You don't suppose his mother plans on bursting his bubble anytime soon..._ '

' _Ooooh, not as long as he looks like that I don't think,_ ' the friend answered. ' _I should think she gets quite a laugh about that.._.' Something told her, now that she understood their words at least, that she knew who that 'She' they spoke of was.

" _And just who exactly is your little friend_?" the ladies at the cafe asked as they stopped for a snack, Seto having decided to simply hold a look of indifference to hide any excitement her eleven year old self might have had at that time. " _She looks very nice_ ," another of the ladies continued as Siegfried looked at the menu for ice cream, Seto in question momentarily breaking from the memory's hold as she closed her eyes and grimaced. Please stop talking about what she looked like...

" _Ohhh, and such beautiful eyes as well_ ," they crooned, Seto's eyebrow twitching somewhat from beneath her hat. Stop talking about her eyes... " _Is she from the East?_ " one of the gossiping women asked in a hushed whisper as Siegfried impatiently waited for the sundaes he'd ordered, " _She looks foreign..._ " Stop talking about her NOW.

She was beginning to wish she couldn't understand what they were saying anymore... Particularly since these weren't the words you used to describe an eleven year old girl!

"Hey, Seto..." The girl looked up, blinking as Siegfried held out a styrofoam bowl. "You like vanilla right?"

"...That's fine." For now, she supposed...

...(Looking back it was good ice-cream, and she wished she'd said something about that...)

They'd gotten back just in time for supper that day. They'd changed back into their ordinary clothes, and somehow, Siegfried had convinced her to join him again the next week, as a 'last day' sort of deal. They went to a river beach this time, taking a train to 'Fussen' on the western half of Bavaria in the same dresses that the moron had held out before. She couldn't fully recall what they did while they were there at that river and lake. It was a faded memory, a long since faded memory.

But it was a nice one, she knew that much. One she hadn't wanted to end, one that she had found herself cursing for as she left for Japan at the end of those three weeks, and as Mokuba gave somewhat saddened good-byes to the family that had looked after them over the summer. It was useless... Pointless! What good were those days after all she told herself bitterly over the next number of weeks, if they would never happen again?

Yet that next summer Herja made the same request she had the year before. Only this time it was for the full month of the summer, something that Gozaburo hadn't argued against despite narrowed eyes and something that had caught her so off guard she'd been unable to speak for almost a half hour after the fact. Things had changed by that point, that time that she'd gotten there for the second visit. Siegfried was certainly getting taller, much to her distaste and annoyance; after all, weren't the girls supposed to grow first? Evidently not.

Moreover, his mother had apparently given him the right to leave the property, something he and only he alone had the privilege of in terms of the other children in the building. Though now that she could understand what the maids had been muttering about it was likely because it was no longer 'cute' to see the moron run around in a dress, that he'd gotten the right to do so.

"So," he'd asked suggestively that first week back in Germany, "Care to join me on another trip?" Siegfried chuckled, Seto looking over the next book she'd started on with a blank expression.

"I'm not wearing the dress," she said curtly, already spotting the hanger in her 'friend's hand. "You don't need one, I don't need one.”

"Oh come on... Bitte?" he whined, holding the new and somewhat more 'personalized' dress forward.

"No."

"Bitteeeeeeeee? Bitte-bitte-bitteb _ittebitte-_ "

"I said no!" she growled, cutting the annoying string of German pleading short as Siegfried looked back up. "And the fact is, you're allowed to go out on your own anyways," she stated curtly, "So what would the use be in the dress?"

The boy shrugged, brushing back a lock of hair and continuing to hold out the dress. "Well... _I_ might be allowed," he offered with a cough, "But as for you..."

She still didn't remember how this idiot was able to convince her to wear a sundress of all things... Let alone three times, one of which was after a full year of classes and practice in 'masculine speaking' on her own time. (Ore, she reminded herself, use ' _Ore'_!)

The countryside likely had something to do with it though. The rolling hills, the towering mountains... There were no trips, no real ones at least during the rest of the year, or in any of the years she had spent at Gozaburo's so far. Perhaps another dinner party here or there, but for the most part any other event that her 'father' was invited to was for Gozaburo and Gozaburo alone, with herself left in the care of maids, butlers, and tutors wielding (for the most part) a switch.

"Honestly," Siegfried had asked during one of the days they were outside of the property, wandering the town's botanical garden as she hung back in silence. "You act like you've never had any fun in your life!" Hn! Really...

"Not since I was a kid," she muttered dryly, sounding more than a decade over her age as her partner snorted.

"Hah! Some excuse," he'd laughed, pulling her off by the wrist as she shouted in protest, "You still are a kid! You need to live more!" the boy shouted, his friend stumbling somewhat as she scowled.

"Li- And just what's that supposed to mean?" she asked angrily, eyes wide as she frowned. She had lessons. A company to learn to run, not to mention that she needed to figure out how to turn that same company away from the arms machines it so constantly produced. "'Having fun'... Don't you plan on taking over your mother's company?" the girl continued, pulling her wrist back even as she continued to follow the boy.

Another snort had been her response, and they continued to run through the flowered bushes of the garden. "Hah! Of course I do!" he countered, coming to a slow walk as he smirked. "In like... Twenty years. You shouldn't be worrying about these sorts of things," Siegfried told her seriously, the smile seeming more honest than joking as he looked to her. "Not now!"

She couldn't remember what she said after that. There were lots of holes in her memory it seemed, and she wasn't sure why. But for some reason as she stared out at the sunset over the garden, the pair having eaten long ago before leaving...

Well...

At the time, she'd wondered if the moron beside her had been trying to make a move on her. Date her or even 'court' her or some other stupid thing, but...

This didn't feel like that she realized, looking back with narrowed eyes. He wasn't looking at her like that, not at all.

If anything it was more like how he would look at his brother.

There was concern of all things in his eyes... A concern she didn't want, and didn't need, and more importantly, _why_ , Seto thought with a growl, clenching her fists as she momentarily jarred her thoughts from the constant rush of memories and feelings yet again. Why, _WHY_ was she remembering this now, and _WHY_ was she caring..!

And why did _he_ care, like what the 'Mutt' did?

"I'll see you next summer ja?" he asked as she left that summer, the dresses discarded and the bags backed and ready for the plane. That was the plan. Bring up the deal once again, and visit once more...

It would be a long time, and it would only be for a month but...

"...Yes," she responded honestly. "You will." She was sure of that. Completely sure, and no matter what happened she told herself, she'd make it.

For Mokuba, who was finally enjoying time with someone his age. For herself, admittedly, not that that mattered as much... And more importantly, to escape from-

"...You seem oddly cheerful about these visits," her father asked her as that summer approached, the now thirteen year old girl swallowing nervously as Gozaburo approached her on the subject of Herja's repeated request. He sat behind his office desk, having called her into the mansion room from her English class. And as always the mood of the room made it considerably difficult to stand, even with the slight gain in height she'd earned throughout the year.

None of this made any difference to her 'father's words.

"...You're far too cheerful in fact," the man muttered. "And I've noticed that you've been acting more brazen lately as well," he sneered. "It used to be that this," he growled, holding out the switch in his hands as he flapped the end in gesture, "Would scarcely meet the air... I was almost pleased by that fact," he continued, "Almost... But this year," the man hissed, slamming it to the desk as his 'son' reminded herself not to flinch. "I'm almost certain that these 'visits' are the source of this..." Maybe... Maybe not.

But he had no right, no right to do this, but if she said anything, her brother would be _GONE_ , it wasn't worth their lives though, it wasn't, he's not in danger, she is, and if she died, so long as she held her tongue that wouldn't happen, and-

"I was distracted," she said plainly, coming up with a lie on the spot as she swallowed back mental strings of fear and panic. "I had been thinking," she continued, "Shortly after the end of last summer's visit, that perhaps I was not learning enough from the Schroider family about their company..." So...

If he could please take that excuse now...

Gozaburo's eyes seemed to narrow somewhat with those words, but this was not anger causing the shift for once. There was only curiosity... Which meant that she had his attention.

So she continued on. "I wished to surprise you Father," she told the man with a swallow, a bead of sweat running down the back of her neck. "I planned to spy on the company's inner workings," Seto went on, "Going beyond what the family revealed, so that we could further our own company's development and possibly discard the need for a partnership..." That was her excuse. So...

Please work she whispered to herself, looking to her 'father' with apparently emotionless eyes. Please...

"Hn..." Her 'father' sat back in his chair, eyes narrowed in thought as he stared toward the girl. Waiting. Waiting for something to snap, for the 'lie' to be revealed.

But there was nothing, and with that the man's glare vanished completely.

"...You're finally beginning to think like a Kaiba," he finally said with a smirk, the girl before him suppressing a wave of nausea at the thought as Gozaburo chuckled. "Good... Good. It's about time... I'll speak with Herja," he continued, eyes narrowed in expectant mirth. "In the meantime, I suggest you pack your things..." Pack...

...It... It worked...

…... …

...YES!

That summer...

She could spend time with her brother again, just as she had the summers before. Spend time with someone her age, without worrying about secrets, about... Anything!

Nothing! All she needed to do was remember the salve for the again raw wounds on her back, the wounds that were well worth the time she got with her brother for that price, well worth the few minutes of sleep, and-

"...Why haven't you said anything yet?" her friend finally asked during the third week of that summer, Seto turning from the game of capmon she was playing with her brother with a somewhat curious blink. "About your back," he continued, the girl's eyes widening. He...

He saw the-

She tensed. What other option did she have but to do that, she was in front of her brother right now and-

"My... My b-"

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked, eyes wide with slight curiosity as the nine year old looked forward, "What's he talking ab-"

"Nothing," she said quickly, standing from the table despite her brother's frown. "Hang on a moment..."

Siegfried might have caught a glimpse of her back thanks to that stupid gardener drenching her with a hose as she passed by the bushes in her white shirt, but regardless of what the boy saw, her back was for her to worry about.

"But 'Fathers' don't do that to their children!" her friend protested angrily, eyes wide. True...

But it was all for Mokuba's sake.

"Getting yourself beaten so that he can be locked away in a room," the boy snarled, "That's for 'his sake'?"

It could have been worse. Far worse, he had to understand that. "But it could be better, _kusine_..."

Kusine. That word...

She'd misheard him last time, and asked what he'd just said. Had he said... Something about his teeth? What?

This time she could understand him though. And even if she hadn't she'd have made the connection now, the word sounding far to close to its English counterpart than could be safe.

'Cousin'.

He'd said...

Seto's eyes widened still more as she stared at the boy through the vision of her memory, her blood running cold as she studied Siegfried's worried face. Those eyes... Narrowed to slits by heritage, but those eyes...

"... _Noa_ ," she hissed, stepping back from a 'ghost' of herself and watching her memory continue to play as she again snapped free of her own thoughts. Noa...

This was _Noa's_ cousin. Siegfried was only a few months older than her she thought coldly, the scene seeming to pause just briefly as she held her head. He would have been eight when Noa died, and if they'd visited even once or twice in the past...

Then he'd known who he was, and he'd know... Exactly... Who that boy was...

And who he looked like.

"...I doubt it could be 'better'," she had lied that day, looking to her friend in blank indifference. "Now... ...Lets go home."

When had Siegfried's house become 'home' she wondered, frowning as she thought back to her words from that time. It certainly wasn't home a week later... Not after...

Everything else...

...She could only barely remember this though.

"Gozaburo will be here for the final three days of the summer," Herja had told them that evening, after she and Siegfried had returned from the town that both were now allowed to wander through alone. "During those days nothing will change, understand?" she said plainly, fixing the children with a steady look. "Nothing." Nothing would change? And just how was that supposed to work! She'd prepared a back up of information to show her 'father', that was true, but for him to come now!

She couldn't do anything while he was here, she couldn't simply act as though he didn't exist...

But evidently Siegfried thought otherwise.

"Come on," he hissed from the doorway to her room, Seto looking up from the desk that she was sketching things upon in her spare time. "We were going to take the cable car up to hike along the mountain, remember?" he continued, the girl gritting her teeth in response as she looked away. Tch... Of all the selfish-

"My _FATHER_ is in the room across this hall," she hissed, eyes wide with a mix of rage and fear, "So just what do you expect me to-"

"Oh please," the boy muttered, running over to pull the girl from her chair as he gripped a hanger in the other. "Mutti's going to keep him busy all day," he whispered quickly, "So let's go!"

One day she was going to ask where he kept finding these dresses. If she ever decided to speak to him again, and if he ever decided to speak to her. "Your real clothes will get too dirty if you wear them where we're going; come on," he'd said, holding it out. "Just for today... Alright?"

Maybe she was just protesting for the sake of her image back then before throwing on that outfit, which had been made to suit the somewhat chilled weather they'd encounter on the mountain. Why... She'd have certainly protested now! But that day...

It really had been fun hadn't it she thought with somewhat dimmed eyes, a snowy breeze passing her by as the memory again overwhelmed her. Or at least, that was what she'd thought back then...

They'd gone up the cable car to reach the snowy peaks of the mountain after hiking up to the building first, jackets stowed in bags along with ponchos and in the case of the hike, hats. Even in nothing but a pair of borrowed boots and a jacket or poncho however it was perfectly fine to stand on the snow covered mountain. The view was incredible. The air was so clear, so devoid of cigar smoke like what Gozaburo so constantly filled the air with. And even though Mokuba wasn't there...

Even though he wasn't there to see it...

She'd found herself wanting that day to last forever she thought miserably. Mokuba was still playing with Leon, likely chasing the family's dog around but...

These weeks...

In the end, they had to come to an end right? They had to stop. They went back at sun-down having eaten supper while at the mountain, looking out over all that lay beneath them. The food had been 'different' of course, given where it came from but... For some reason she hadn't minded too much. It was... Nice.

And for once not as awkward as most other times would have been, as when they'd had that first ice cream. They'd gotten back with time to spare even; Herja was still speaking with Gozaburo it seemed, as she had been a number of hours prior, with the door open only a crack as they slipped past in silence. She'd been able to clean up, get changed, dry her hair from the shower she'd taken to eradicate any still lingering 'mountain scent'... Her work had long since been finished after all, and now there was only one thing left to do.

"Hey, should we find Mokuba?" Siegfried asked, Seto looking up from where he'd been waiting in the doorway for her to finish changing in the washroom. "It's his and Leon's bedtime isn't it?" he continued, the girl looking to the clock at that comment.

That was right, it was she told herself somewhat blankly, but...

Shouts were coming from the room across them, the initial outburst jarring them from their thoughts as they looked toward the room. The two both narrowed their eyes, walking toward it as the foreign shouts continued.

And at the time when she'd first experienced this, she hadn't understood what they were saying. Their words were in German after all, a language she had yet to learn.

But Siegfried had understood it perfectly.

And as he swallowed, growing pale in the face he quickly stepped back to mutter something under his breath.

"...What was that?" Seto asked, looking to the boy. "What are they saying?"

"I'm going to go find Leon," he whispered, stepping back with a nervous swallow. "You should probably come with," he continued in panic, "I-"

"Du HÖRST MICH NICHT! "

He wasn't _listening_ to her, her mind told her as the line was translated.

"Wenn du dieses Theatre noch weiter spielen würdest," a woman, Herja she realized, screeched in rage, "Hättest du ein mädel, das so verwirrt wäre, und du ihr so weh getan hättest, Gozaburo... Du weiß es doch! Sie ist weder dein SOHN!" the CEO snarled, "Noch deine FRAU! Es wäre besse wenn du diese Einsicht käme, sonst wäre es zu spat!!"

Seto hadn't known what they were saying, rather, what Herja was saying that day. She hadn't known at all, not at all she realized with cold horror and rage as everything began to fall into place before her eyes.

Siegfried had though.

He'd frozen up behind her as she stood outside the door, which had just been tapped open by her outstretched hand, by the hand she'd found herself reaching out with in her hesitancy...

' _You're not LISTENING!_ '

She didn't know...

' _If you continue with this facade,_ ' Herja had roared with wide eyes, ' _You will have a very confused and very hurt little girl on your hands Gozaburo... And you KNOW this! She is not your SON!_ ' she screamed, a flash of light hair and a sneering grin coming to mind as Seto thought of her captor, ' _Nor is she your WIFE!_ ' the woman had gone on, a faded photograph coming to mind as she stared forward in silent fear. ' _You would do well to realize that now, before it is too late!_ ' That...

This...

Gozaburo had said nothing in response, instead turning with narrowed eyes as Seto stood in the doorway near the stairs. This was...

"...Seto," he'd said curtly, switching back to Japanese as his 'daughter' looked forward in mixed betrayal and shock. "...I thought you were supposed to be in your room..."

The girl couldn't help but swallow at that, despite merely narrowing her eyes and nodding in response. "I... I heard shouts..."

But there was nothing else left to say from that was there, even though she now stood in the doorway. Even now, as she realized just how much of her 'disguise' had been in vain, how much everything had been in vain! Silence was settling over the air...

Herja gave Gozaburo a single cold look before walking past to leave the room, hissing something to the man in German. "Wenn du diese ihr diese Details nicht erklären wirst," she muttered darkly, eyes narrowing to mere slits, "Dann sage ich ihr alles Bescheid..."

She left the room after that, taking Siegfried downstairs. Took the last 'witness' away, leaving Seto standing just before the staircase and the doorway as Gozaburo looked down upon her from the other side of the room.

She was almost thirteen by this point. She'd learned how to act around this man, and just how to keep her own mind intact, or so she had thought back then. Maybe she _was_ more brazen, more of a pain to deal with who knew.

But as she steeled her resolve, forcing herself to cast any fear of this man aside, she found herself failing horribly in the back of her mind, that small part of her that held a fear of this man deep inside simply unwilling to die.

"Why weren't you in your room earlier?" the man growled, Seto unable to keep herself from stepping back as her worst fears were confirmed in regards to being caught in the act.

"I had... I had finished my class work," she said truthfully, clenching and unclenching her fists. "...Herja-san allowed me to leave the room following this... So I did."

"I told you to stay in your room," Gozaburo continued almost dangerously.

Stay here, stay there... A 'boy' did 'this', did 'that', did...

That was it.

He'd known all along just who she was, and he'd strung her along like some pathetic little fish, attacking the baited line.

That was it! That was...

"There's nothing to do in 'my room'," she hissed in response to the man's words, shaking on the spot. "What do you expect me to do when the lessons are done? Find some more school work, when I've already surpassed a high school student's level! What do you want from me?"

"Why are you like this..." Her 'father's words were almost whispered, and slowly they raised in volume as Seto narrowed her eyes and took yet another step back. "You don't listen," he growled. "You talk back when others speak, you hate the horses, you hate the winter, you hate the suits, you hate the classes!" What...

What the hell was this?

What the hell did any of that have to do with this! "So sorry I don't meet with your expectations, Father... But not everyone is exactly what you want them to be," she snarled, face growing red as her 'father' held his head in his hands.

"It shouldn't have been like this," he continued to ramble, the scowl set on his face as he stepped toward his 'daughter'. "You looked exactly... ...Your intelligence was... ..." Was...

What? What was it? What did she look like? What was this!

"Tch... Were you expecting someone else?" she spat, hair standing on end as she gestured to herself. "I'm my own person 'Father'! Haven't you realized this? Can't you just accept what I've done and live with that!" she roared, the few years of abuse finally cracking as she shouted to the man. "Can't you just do that much!"

"You..."

Shit.

She'd gone to far she realized, stepping back yet again and swallowing as Gozaburo approached her with clenched fists. "Everything you talk about... It's always card games, dragons, so-called 'peace' and 'honor'," he hissed, his own face red despite the reasoning being drastically different. "All those words... They're nothing but toys and DREAMS!" Gozaburo snarled, "What kind of SON ARE YOU?" What kind of 'son'?

"Isn't all of this normal for a 'son'?" she retorted, no longer bothering to keep her voice down. "What kind of FATHER uses a switch when their 'son' finishes classes ahead of time!" Seto continued, looking forward in rage. “What kind of 'FATHER' puts all of his attentions on one son while locking the other in their ROOM! What kind of FATHER-"

"That's ENOUGH!" Gozaburo roared, eyes wide with rage as the girl cut her words short and stepped back yet again. "Why... Why are you LIKE THIS!" he continued, holding his head before finally snapping as Seto grit her teeth and waited for a switch, or even a belt to fall. "Why... _WHY AREN'T YOU MORE LIKE HIM!_ "

The girl's eyes flew open with that and in a moment both of them had frozen, the girl standing in horror as she slowly stepped back to prepare to run.

"Who," she whispered, eyes wide as she began to fall. "Who is... _Him_..?"

She'd stepped too far back.

She'd fallen backwards on the stairs, unable to think any further than the fact that she could now see the ceiling above her.

Who was ' _him_ ' she thought in her mind as she fell back, as Gozaburo's shout of 'SETO!' came through the air and as panicked cries from the floors below filled the area.

Who was 'him', who was...

Noa...

' _This isn't the memory,_ ' they'd told her as they ran through her mind. ' _This isn't it..._ ' No...

This was.

' _What do you remember from yesterday?_ ' she'd been asked when she woke up, the girl holding her head as Gozaburo stood at the side with narrowed eyes, ' _What do you remember?_ '

' _I was doing my school work_ ,' she whispered, frowning as she attempted to clear her thoughts. ' _That's all and... And then... I... '_

Then she'd left with Siegfried...

But it was all a blur, all fragmented, all... All...

_'Don't strain yourself_ ,' Gozaburo warned. ' _You fell on the stairs._ ' Fell...

Haha.

Ha... Hahaha...

HAHA... This... _THIS_..!

" _If you continue with this,_ " Herja had snarled, " _You will have one very confused and very hurt little girl on your hands..!_ "

She was hardly 'little' she thought, the world around her shaking and crumbling as her eyes met with that of her past counterpart. Hardly 'hurt' and 'confused' she told herself as she clenched her fists, glass shattering around her as her eyes widened with rage. But angry...

Oh yes.

"GOZABURO!" she snarled, breathing heavily as she looked upward at the virtually created tower that appeared before her as the last of her memories were cast aside. As she was returned to the clothes she'd worn coming in, the only thing missing being her coat and binding. This scum...

This god-forsaken...

"I'm coming for you!" she roared, eyes wide as the scene seemed to rumble around them. "And when I find you... I'll make sure there isn't even a scrap of you remaining!" Her only answer was cackling laughter...

And a door appearing behind her.


	28. Change of Heart

For a moment as he held his head everything was swirling.

The data was swarming his mind now that the walls of his memories had been shattered, and the walls he was attempting to put up in defense were nothing without the guidance of the ghost he'd met before. They were falling without her aid, collapsing each time he attempted to erect them. He needed...

He...

True, he remembered dimly, she'd tried to kill him. But the walls...

They'd helped... So much, they'd helped, and if he could put those walls back up he'd stop watching everyone else's minds, stop seeing everything they saw all at once as though he had numerous eyes _EVERYWHERE_ , hearing everything, feeling everything...

Honda and Otogi were still arguing over rent prices as they walked back home, unaware that Honda's appearance as a still enormous hound was anything but normal. Yugi was jumping from memory to memory... shaking his head, attempting to re-establish the link he held with his lighter half, attempting to grasp at the one bit of 'sense' he could make in this place... Anzu was being held close by none other than Malik at the moment while she cried out in pain, but for the moment his mind wouldn't let him lash out at the teen- it wouldn't help, his logical mind told him and besides, didn't it look like he was...

Comforting her?

Helping her..?

Seto was gone, having torn herself from the system with her own free will and spite. Mokuba and Noa as well, but Mokuba wasn't even connected any more, they were both outside the system, and-

Shizuka...

...His sister...

She was crying...

She was crying and he had a voice in the back of his mind telling him not to care-!

"Damn it," he snarled, holding his head as cracks appeared across 'reality', as he stumbled back and screamed. "DAMN IT!"

-End Program,- his mind snarled. -Returning to Main Menu.-

He didn't want to feel like this again, he didn't, he...

"...HRAAA _AAAAAAHHH_!" And with one fell strike the illusions had broken, shattering across the entirety of the computerized realm. The city streets came back across the land, along with store buildings and highrises...

The Domino Ward- the 'Main Menu', their 'home'- had returned, but even with that he couldn't feel a shred of relief, not anything...

"Hah... Hah... ...Ghnn..." His head... "Hn... Hah..." His head...

The blond stumbled forward as he bit his lip, fingers digging into his skull as he forced a wall up once again, doing all he could to cement the block on the information in place. He had to stop the data, had to stop everything, before he was too overwhelmed to think, to exist, to...

Even pretend to feel, in even the slightest...

"Jonouchi!" a familiar voice shouted, the blond collapsing on the side of the road in his jeans and 'tunic-shirt' as he grimaced in apparent pain. "JONOUCHI!" the other Yugi cried, running over in his own slightly altered costume, eyes wide with worry while numerous shouts filled the air.

Katsuya looked up with ragged breaths as the others came over, swallowing as his vision cleared. Yugi... Honda, Otogi, Shizuka... All in clothes that looked like some mix between their former 'class costumes' and their actual outfits but...

Wait...

"Honda," he muttered, slowly pulling himself to his feet as he looked at the teen. He must have done this when he 'shattered' the memories... When he told the program to 'reset', to come back to even slight normalcy... "Honda," he repeated, "Yer..."

"Human!" he laughed, crossing his arms with a grin. "Yep! Great isn't it-aru?"

...Aru? ...Crap, he must not have 'reset' completely...

"AH-" Otogi blinked, looking to the teen with somewhat wide eyes. "You did it again..!"

This was happening often then..? "Did what-aru?"

"Bark!" the teen protested, "You're barking at the end of your sentences!"

"What? I am not-aru!" Yes he was... "What are you-" Honda paused, bringing a furred sleeve up to his neck as he choked in apparent realization. "Erf!"

"H-Honda-han," Shizuka coughed, her hair still snow white from the 'Ruin' costume she was only slightly wearing now. The teen held his head, groaning as a slight canine whine came out with it. "Are you alright?"

"AUGGGGHHHHH... I just got over being a dog-aru, how can I still be one," he whined. "This isn' fair-aru! I thought I'd finally gotten my body back-aru!" Well, his clothes were kinda covered in fur but...

...Hey, this was close enough anyways. It wasn't like it was really his body, the computerized side of him muttered. Memories had other things to say however, bringing another problem forward, another problem that the computer continuously told him not to bother with.

Something that was taking all he had to push back with that 'wall'.

"...Where'r th' others?" Katsuya wheezed, standing and leaning against the wall as the others turned back from Honda. "Where..."

"Ni-Nihan, should you be talking in this condition?" Shizuka asked, biting her lip as she looked to the clearly weakened blond. "I mean, you're..."

"...Jonouchi... What happened?" Yugi muttered, narrowing his eyes as Katsuya coughed again. "How did we get out of the-"

"Noa's gone," he said bluntly, still holding his head as the others tensed. "Bastard cheat'd us all... He's got Mokuba... But he didn' take Mokuba's body," he rambled on, closing his eyes and biting his lip. "He... He took..."

His.

The others paled as they realized what their friend was trying to say, what the computer was saying, each one swallowing as they traded fearful glances. "He... Nihan... Don't tell me he took your body," his sister whispered, shaking her head despite her own subconscious thought being told otherwise. "Don't..."

"The computer... You're the _computer_ again then, aren't you," Otogi muttered, sweat dripping down the side of his face as he stared at his friend. "You're..."

"...If you're the computer why did you ask where the others were?" Honda shook his head, biting his lip before continuing on. "You're 'connected' to all of us now aren't you-aru? So why can't you? Hell, couldn't you just get us out yourself-aru?" Why couldn't he get them out?

Because his mind and memory kept telling him that something was happening outside right now, something that they couldn't interrupt.

But for now his 'mind' told him, be half-honest instead of completely. "I put up a wall," he muttered almost darkly, still staring at the ground with shadowed eyes as he attempted to regain even a small sense of himself. "T' block out th' rest 'f th' computer, an th' thoughts 'f everyone else... So tha' I could jus' stick w' my memories an thoughts instead, so I could still be 'me'..." And even then, not even that... "I..." The blond swallowed, taking in a deep and shuddering breath. "'F... 'F I break tha' wall," he whispered, slowly standing up straight, "'F I let all tha' through... I don' think I'll ever be able t' be me again..."

He'd just be another Noa.

Another broken human being that was reduced to nothing but a cold-hearted and unthinking machine. Unable to do nothing but act on the basis of his last 'dying' thoughts and drive to escape, sacrificing anything and everyone he knew to reach that end. ...But...

Even so...

"...They can' be far," he muttered, moving past the others with a determined and almost dead stare. "I broke all 'f y' out, an y' weren't tha' far from each other," he continued, those behind him trading worried glances as their clearly 'different' friend spoke on. "They should be... ...Down th's road," he decided on a whim, nodding nervously.

Yeah...

This one seemed like a good idea.

* * *

As they stared at each other by the park benches, neither knew what to say to the other.

Their clothes were different. Her robes didn't have sleeves any more, and the skirt was divided into pants it seemed. But across her back...

Her burning, _bleeding_ back...

"Anzu," Malik began from across from her, reaching out with a now human hand as he swallowed. "I-"

"Get away from me," she hissed viciously, pulling her legs up against herself as she looked up from the bench with shadowed eyes. "And _stay_ away..."

The blond swallowed, nonetheless doing as requested as he lowered his hand and turned his eyes downward. "Anzu... I'm truly sorry. For everything that happened," he whispered, shaking his head and biting his lip. "But..." Briefly he paused, before looking up again with empathy, worry... "But I..."

"How can you even look at me like that?" the woman spat, eyes wide with a rage that was only partially her own. "How can I even look at you now!" There was no answer for a moment, and as tears rolled down her face she continued on. "You're HIM!” she roared, holding her legs close as the Egyptian stood before her, tightening her grip as though the 'smaller' she got the less likely she would be spotted. "You're the one who caused all of this!"

"I know," he responded with an almost broken tone, "And I-"

"What do I even CALL YOU!" she screamed in rage, turning her head up toward the blond as memories that weren't hers continued to pound her skull, her back still stinging from the pain inflicted by those same thoughts. "I _trusted_ you... The one who put my father in a hospital!" she cried, "The one who tried to kill all of my friends... I trusted you, and you turned out to be _HIM_! You... You're a MONSTER!" she shouted, voice breaking under the strain of her tears. "A monster..!"

And she'd fallen for him, she thought as she brought her face to her legs in tears. Completely fallen for it, never suspecting...

"I know."

What...

Anzu looked up at the blond, her scowl fading somewhat with the words. He wasn't denying it. Any of it...

But why? "You..."

"No amount of apologies can make up for what I've done," Malik whispered, attempting to come close once again before stopping as the woman before him flinched away. "I deserve anything you and your friends decide to do. Beat me, leave me behind, or kill me outright," the blond offered, "Do what you will. Because against better reasoning," he continued, expression torn as he stood there, "I've come to think of you as friends, if not partially as a family of sorts. Maybe it's because of what happened; I can't feel everything right now you know?" he explained. "All of my hate, all of my anger... It's gone, using my body as its vessel and it's beyond my control. But that doesn't change what I did. It doesn't change what I've seen and experienced here, what I've felt while here... And nothing will erase the guilt of what I've done to all of you," the blond told her, taking a seat on the bench as he clutched the sleeves on his arms. "Nothing," he repeated, bowing his head.

She didn't respond for a moment. Her back still burned with pain, still bled after all, leaving markings identical to Malik's own. In the end she merely lay her head on her knees, eyes dimming as she attempted to make sense of it all.

There were 'two Maliks' now. One was worse than this one, and this one was the one who had done all those things she knew of.

But at the same time, it wasn't. There was no hate or anger left for him, not beyond what he re-created... Or beyond what he could leech off of her, her memories told her.

"...What do we even do now?" she eventually muttered, wiping her eyes and continuing to choke on her words. "What... What do you call 'us', what do you call 'this'?" she continued, attempting to rub her back only to grimace in pain and pull her hand away with a hiss. The pain...

It still burned, but touching it just made it...

"...What... What do I..." What did she do?

Malik's arms were again around her, pulling her close from the side even though she more or less resembled an 'egg' at the moment. "I don't know," he admitted, still staring at the ground. "I know my memories flooded your mind... But your memories did the same to me," he went on with a confused grimace, "And I don't know... Would this be a form of friendship?" he asked, Anzu shaking her head immediately.

"It's more than friends," the woman said almost bluntly, before just as quickly clarifying. "But it's certainly not some kind of relationship... Nothing like that."

"...Siblings then?" he offered, gently rubbing his friend's shoulder as she turned up and frowned.

"But we aren't even relat-"

"Rishid isn't related to me," Malik countered quietly, still not looking at the woman. "I still consider him my brother though. For as long as I remember, he's been my 'brother'." Ah...

A small bit of silence settled in, Anzu doing nothing more than sitting in the blond's arms with those words. 'Rishid'. That was...

The tall man, the one she'd caught a glimpse of during Jonouchi's fight... Wasn't it?

Silence continued to hover over them, a few birds chirping in the distance as the sun shone from above. "You know," her friend whispered, looking around the street they sat in with almost dull eyes, "I find whenever I pass this street, I think of that street in California..." Cali..?

"You've been to California?" she asked idly, only to feel Malik shake his head.

"No. You have. It's the same with this street... I'm... Sorry," he admitted, Anzu merely nodding slowly in understanding.

"It's fine," the woman responded, before bringing up her earlier thoughts. "I... ...Rishid... He's the tall man, with the carving on his face, right?" The blond nodded, and she swallowed, memories she should never have had on the man coming to mind. "He... He did that ritual when... This happened right," she asked, gesturing to their backs. "With the coming-of-age ceremony, and..." Another nod, the woman again looking down at the ground as she slowly brought her legs back down. "...And the woman... Ishizu," Anzu continued almost questioningly. "She's-"

"Our- ...My sister," Malik answered after a quick correction, the pair both staring at the ground as they attempted to make sense of the still present 'link' between the two. Why did she know all these things... Why...

She wasn't reading Malik's mind, and he wasn't reading hers, but these memories...

"I'm so confused," she hissed, holding her head as she curled up somewhat.

"I know." Of course he knew... "...I'm sorry," the blond beside her repeated, neither looking directly at the other as they spoke. This...

All of this... "I don't... I just don't understand any of this," Anzu cried softly, still shaking her head as she shook, the pain on her back still burning like some raging flame. "I-"

"I'm sorry... Anzu, I-"

"It hurts," she finally wept, curling forward as a few corners of her still bleeding back faced the sky from beneath Malik's arm. "It hurts..!"

"I know," Malik whispered. "I know, but there's nothing I can do about it, we can't-"

"But how did you live with it then?" the woman cried, looking back with tear-filled eyes. "How did you-"

She cut off as she was met with a saddened gaze, already knowing the answer.

"I didn't."

* * *

They found the pair just moments after that exchange between them occurred, and after the duo had fallen into another span of silence. Thundering footsteps had filled the air in a stampede down the street, and as they turned the corner Anzu and Malik both shifted toward them, Katsuya himself merely slowing down with a slight frown.

"There she is!" Yugi shouted, eyes wide as he looked to the woman in black. "Anzu... ANZU!"

"Who's sitting beside her?" Otogi added, the group slowing to a stop a few feet away in confusion as he looked to the blond beside their friend. "The one in orange?"

At this the two on the bench looked up, Malik pulling back only slightly as an audible growl came from the former 'dog' of the group. "Rrrr _rrrrrr_... You..!"

"M-Malik," Shizuka whispered, eyes wide as she froze in momentary horror at the sight of the blond. "But how-!"

"He must have been controlling her mind," Honda snarled, teeth grinding as his hair and the fur on his clothing both began to bristle, his fists held in almost scratching motions as rage built amid the crowd. "Bastard..! I should kill you right here-aru!"

"Then why don't we do that?" Otogi added, his own eyes narrowing in a calm rage. "Anzu!" he shouted, gesturing to the side. "Get away from him, he's-"

"Not going anywhere," she responded curtly, standing up from the bench as the others stared in confusion. "You're not going to even touch Malik, understand?" the woman continued, the two who had been about to move for an attack frowning. "He's our ally! No matter what happened before, he's on our side!"

"On our- Bullshit!" Growls again floated through the air, a majority of the crowd narrowing their eyes whilst Yugi and Katsuya both stared in silence. "Is she still being controlled-aru?" Honda asked, his friend shrugging.

"I don't know, is that possible through the computer?" Otogi muttered confusedly, "I mean-"

"Well if Anzu's acting like this it's the only real reason we have right?" Shizuka whispered, only for her brother to shake his head as he stepped forward and cut her off.

"No," he said quickly, expression far more 'blank' than it normally would have been "It ain'." The others turned, Yugi in particular raising a suspicious eyebrow as Malik stared. "We c'n sort th's out later," he continued, mind still running on the logic of the computer system, "But f'r now we gotta find Seto-chan an' Mokuba. B'sides," the blond went on, looking back to the pair with narrowed eyes as both tensed under the stare. "They're both 'them'... I c'n tell y' tha' now."

Silence hung over the area, with a majority of the others appearing to barely be convinced by the move. In the end however any possible comments were stopped before they started, the look on Katsuya's face along with the combined and subconscious mental prodding giving them enough of a headache to put a stop on the argument.

"Man," Honda muttered, shaking his head as he looked toward his friend. "You weren't kidding about the computer thing..."

"Thanks," Katsuya said almost automatically, the teen giving a slight shudder in response.

"That wasn't a complime-"

"We need to get out of here," Yugi said plainly, still fixing a suspicious eye on Malik as he cut the teen off. "Come on," he continued swiftly, "Lets move..."

The others nodded, Katsuya stepping forward to lead them down the road. "Righ'," he began, nodding somewhat shortly as he attempted to regain his bearings without losing track of where they were. "I think there's somethin' over here..."

"You think, or you know?" Malik asked smartly, before rubbing a bruised shoulder when Anzu smacked it as a response. "Ow!"

"You're not going to be helping your case with that," she muttered.

"It's only the truth..! I-" The Egyptian cut his words short as they moved past the next series of buildings, the group having walked through a strange round-about street only to freeze. Despite his 'computer side' telling him there was nothing to worry about, Katsuya had to really 'feel' for the shock that had caused this tension actually. After all...

The city had just been replaced with a bi-coloured, checkered lawn, possibly the size of Mongolia. It spanned for a seemingly endless distance, and where they now stood marked the 'line' between two rows of enormous white chess pieces.

"Holy shit," Honda muttered, shaking his head. "Kaiba's 'dad' really likes chess-aru..!" Ohohoh... If they only knew.

"That's... That's putting it lightly," Otogi muttered with a cough, the others unable to do more than look up as they walked between the two rows of white pieces. "That... Yeah..." Not much else to say on this...

"What do you think we'll need to do here?" Anzu asked, the pieces towering above them as buildings in their own right from where they slowly walked between them. "I mean, these things are huge..." More than huge; it was almost as though Tokyo tower multiplied.

And yet he apparently wasn't the only one thinking 'clearly' despite this. "We'll obviously have to play through this," Yugi said almost quietly, the boy looking up at the pieces and narrowing his eyes. "Somehow, at least." Yes... 'Somehow'.

"Eh- Play? With these?" Malik protested with a frown. The Egyptian gestured up at the pieces, a frown on his face. "And what makes you think that? Do you have some sort of psychic powers we don't know about?"

The boy chose to ignore the comment, instead pointing between the pawns to gesture to a number of black pieces opposite them as Shizuka examined the Queen behind her. "We can't pass through these pieces," he answered, bringing his hand back. "So I doubt we'll be able to pass through the black side. But what do you see between the King and Queen of that side?" The group squinted at that, leaning in somewhat to look at the hazed structure between pieces. Between the king and Queen...

He knew without even having to 'look'. "A tower," Otogi answered, the teen narrowing his eyes even more. "In fact, I think it's..."

"KaibaCorp," Katsuya muttered, eyes widening somewhat as the others stared. The shine across the building's glass, the oddly shaped helicopter pad... There was no doubt about it. "'S KaibaCorp." And if they were lucky, perhaps it was also where Seto w-

"A-AH! W-What!" The teens each jumped as a rumbling, robotized cry erupted from behind, seemingly originating from above and operating with a tone almost similar to Shizuka's own. "W- What happened..!"

They turned, Katsuya looking up with wide eyes as the 'Queen Chesspiece' seemed to move, the blank-faced head looking down as its 'arms' stretched out in apparent shock. This...

The skirt had divided to reveal a balancing 'point', and shards of the piece now hovered around it but...

"W-What th' hell-" His mind told him he shouldn't have been surprised; this was 'normal'. But the wall prevented him from knowing how this had happened, and exactly what had-

"N-Nihan!" the Chesspiece shouted, looking down with wide and terrified lens eyes. "I think I... Ah... ...I think I'm stuck..." Oh HELL. That was...

"S-Shizuka..?" As the piece nodded, the others had to swallow. This...

Would be an interesting game.

* * *

She supposed that a door that took her directly to where she needed to be would have been asking too much. If Noa had been content with leading her around pointlessly after all, then why wouldn't the man she had once called 'Father'? An endless staircase had met her vision when she opened the door, and it was with grit teeth that she had begun to run up the stairs. For herself.

For Mokuba. Hell...

By this point she felt like she was doing it for just about everyone stuck in this hole! And as she ran she could hear his endless and cackling laughter, taunting her as she panted and charged up each step. " _Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHAHA... Come and get me,_ " Gozaburo sneered, flames seeming to line the sides of the staircase as she ran. " _Come on, Seto..!_ " Tch...

"Leave," she hissed, continuing to run up the stairs even as a vicious draft of cold struck her from the side. She could scarcely see the stairs she ran upon, and if she looked over the side there was nothing else. And each time she took in a breath the cold wind blew, seeming to slam against her with all the force of a living human being. "Leave," she repeated with a growling tone, her locket slamming against her chest with each step. "Leave me!" The cold wind blew once again...

" _You're too LATE_ ," a woman's voice hissed, a winged mask floating past on a wind of white, the breeze seeming to form a gown in the dust at her side. " _Too LATE!_ " the woman snarled, " _TOO LATE!_ " Damn it all...

She didn't know who this woman was, but if this wind kept blowing...

The mask hovered just ahead of her, and she grit her teeth. "Tch... LEAVE me!" Seto roared, throwing her arm through the mist and continuing to run up the stairs. She didn't have time for this. She needed to get out of here, she needed to get her brother out of here, and she needed to get everyone else-

" _Too late ojou-chan_ ," the voice whispered, mask returning in a mist as its porcelain expression of serenity twisted into a snarl at the side. " _TOO LATE! Your brother is gone and your lover is DEAD,_ " she screeched, the misted body furling into a white flame. " _TURN BACK!_ " Gh-

Lover! Seto paid no attention to the rest of the spirit's warnings, merely continuing her run and throwing a knife-hand toward the shade. "I said LEAVE!" she snarled, cutting through the mask as she charged the steps. "NOW!"

At that word the stairs suddenly disappeared, the woman stumbling into darkness as her body seemed to glow. She tripped, stepping forward once or twice, before looking beneath her and finding herself hovering in place. Gh- This...

This place.

"Hnhnhnhn... Hnhahahaha..."

She was at the 'top', she told herself. There was nowhere left to run, and nowhere for her target to hide.

"Tch... Gozaburo," Seto hissed, narrowing her eyes as the man appeared across from her in a brief pillar of flames. A reddish coloured suit met her gaze along with a scowling expression and a smoking cigar. He looked no different than the day he died...

Go figure.

"Well... You certainly took your time in coming here," the ghost muttered plainly, Seto narrowing her eyes as she walked toward the man with an unimpressed scowl. "I've been waiting... We need to have a talk," he continued, raising an eyebrow slightly. As if she would be bothering with something like that...

"Tch! Hardly," she growled, fists clenched as she stopped just a few feet away from the man. "If I didn't know just who you were I'd almost laugh at how ridiculous all of this was!" At how pointless this entire realm was, at how pointless it was for a dead man to attempt the destruction of anything...

At least Noa, at the pathetic core, had a reason! But the 'man' merely snorted at her words, shaking his head. "Now now Seto," he sighed, tapping some of the ashes from his cigar to the ground. "Don't be like that... We have plenty of time after all," he continued, the darkness below vanishing as a chess 'board' appeared beneath them. "See?"

Seto looked down briefly with those words, frowning as she looked to the pieces that were there. Some were moving... Others were changing, shifting... The two rooks at the sides had shifted into some sort of moving tank, with the knight closest to the Queen resembling some sort of mechanized vulture, the second seeming almost similar to her dragon. The Queen itself looked like some skirted 'Gundam', the King a 'control tower' and the Bishop's large round 'hat' opening up like a flower to reveal a large glowing stone, a figure hidden within. And as she stared at the bizarre scene, watched as the counterparts to these pieces mutated into monsters on the oppsoite end of the field, she heard a voice...

" _Game START!_ " Yugi roared from inside the King's Chesspiece, the boy flipping a wide number of switches before hitting a single button. " _PAWN TO D-4!_ " A chess game.

As the pawn moved forward she frowned, shaking her head. It was all...

A chess game. Gozaburo's Knight was the first to move in response, hovering through the air before landing on F6. This match...

These first two moves, almost identical to-

"Tch... Even if we had eternity my words would be short," the woman hissed, looking up as the image of the chessboard vanished from sight below them. "Listen to me," Seto continued darkly, "And let us out, NOW," she snarled, pointing toward the man with grit teeth.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I don't think so," the ghost chuckled, pacing around the woman as she glared at the spirit from her floating position. "Your little friend seems more than 'capable' of fighting. Why not let him decide for you, like how you decided I would adopt you?" he sneered, Seto continuing to narrow her eyes in response. Hn! Chess, chess, nothing but chess...

But those few moves had revealed all she needed to know about how this man thought. "This really is a waste of time," she hissed, narrowing her eyes. "You think you can defeat Yugi in Chess? Please... I defeated you as a CHILD!" the woman spat, eyes widening as she continued on. "And with that in mind just how do you think you'll fare against my current rival?"

The ghost's smirk fell instantly, a scowl appearing on his face. "Oh... Believe me when I say that I will be more than a challenge for your precious rival," he growled, seeming to flame before Seto as he spoke. "And you would do well to realize that you are not as powerful as you think. Besides," the man sneered, revealing the board again as the Knight which resembled a vulture was crushed beneath the black demon which attacked it, "No one said we had to continue fighting... I don't need the 'real world' after all," he chuckled darkly, the knight's rider below being spared by the pawn that saved it shortly thereafter. "All I ask is that you stay here, as my son... Or my daughter... Whatever your choice," he continued, "And I'll let the others escape." REALLY?

He thought he would get her with that? "Tch... Bullshit," she growled, not even allowing herself a moment to consider the offer. "I know what you're trying... And it won't work. I would much rather die than remain here with you," the woman spat with another accusing point. "Particularly when your word is worth as much as the filth in the horses' stables! If you want 'me' so bad," Seto continued darkly, "Then fight me yourself, COWARD!"

In that moment the ghost before her erupted into a tower of blood flames, the woman below clenching her fists as she stared up to the demon with narrowed eyes. "YOU... Very well!" he snarled, a familiar stream of 'cards' swirling around his 'daughter' as she continued to look forward. "We're going to play a game you're _very_ familiar with," Gozaburo snarled, voice twisted by the crackling flames. "I'm going to defeat you in the one game you pride yourself upon, like you did to me!" The game she prided herself upon-

He was going to challenge her to _that_? "You... You're challenging me in Duel Monsters?" Seto muttered incredulously. The game that she considered herself the 'Queen' of... And with Gozaburo's words in mind her scowl deepened. "...Tch! As I thought. This is just one big vengeance ploy! All this work... And THIS was your grand scheme?" she roared, looking up with narrowed eyes. "Really?"

"Hn! You can thank your 'brother' for the complications of things," Gozaburo sneered, the flames still swirling without any sign of permanent form. "If it hadn't been for his mind snapping into a pathetic little child I'd have never broken free! And you can thank your 'Katsuya' for that," the man added, Seto narrowing her eyes as cards she picked slowly vanished from the screen around her. This...

She didn't even think of him by his first name!

So stop speaking of him as though they thought of each other like that! "Well... So you were 'trapped'..." Trapped by none other than the one they'd have had to break to escape in the first place... "Hn! A 'ghost' trapped... How pathetic," she sneered, the flaming specter merely snarling in response to the words that Seto would ordinarily have never brought herself to say.

"HN! We shall soon see who the 'PATHETIC' one is, " Gozaburo hissed. "You... I HATE you," the demon roared, no longer even remotely resembling a human being as razor sharp teeth flashed from the fires. "More than anything, I HATE you! You took my company," he snarled, "My life!"

"You took your own life!" she retorted, eyes narrowed even further as the cards spun about her. "And if you think that this gives you the right to trap us in this world you can think again. Make your move, Gozaburo!"

It was time to get this over with!

* * *

Now that the mental wall he'd created was in place and he'd mostly gotten over no longer having a body, it was easy to act like himself. Perhaps even too easy the memories thought he should know, but for the sake of the others, he'd continue anyways. It was the least he could do right? And even if there had really been no reason to freak out about the 'Chess Piece' deal, (or so his computerized mind told him) he would at least act as though it had and move on.

"Alrigh'," Katsuya said as he cracked his knuckles, the initial panic having calmed down considerably. "Looks like we know how we're gonna play th's game now!" he said with a grin, the others nodding in response. A person would take a piece, and they'd move on... "Oi Yugi!" he shouted, gesturing to the piece in front of him, "You think you c'n take th' King?"

"Ah- The King?" the boy responded, turning from where he'd been about to take a Bishop. "Why the King?"

"Yeah... The King can barely move," Otogi continued, "Why would-"

"Cause th' King's gonna be controllin' th' players," he countered, the others raising their eyebrows. "We each gotta take a piece, yeah, but someone's gotta move each 'f us! 'Nless y' want t' face Gozaburo w' a computer d'ciding yer moves," he added, the others swallowing in response.

"And how did you know the 'king' would be the one to do it?" Malik asked somewhat suspiciously, crossing his arms from where he stood a slight distance away. How...

"I jus' do," he grumbled, scowling as he looked away. "'S a c'mputer thing..." And not easy to avoid either. "Anyways... Oi, Shizuka!" he shouted up, the 'Queen' looking down with a slight nod. "I'm takin' th' King's Knight, got it?" he told her, the Queen seeming to nod.

"Alright Nihan," the Queen responded, before looking to the side to stare. "Ah..."

Yugi tapped the 'King' piece beside the woman, the piece in question giving a shudder as the boy vanished from sight. Unlike the Queen however no limbs appeared, nor did any sign of humanity about the device. Instead, a large 'window' opened near the 'crown' at the top, a voice coming over a speaker system in the 'tower'. "...I'm in," Yugi said plainly, the boy looking around the room he now sat in with mild indifference. "It looks almost like an Airport control tower..."

"Airpo- Wai'," Katsuya muttered, before shouting up, "How th' hell d' you know what a-"

"Aibou told me," he said plainly, before continuing on with his usual voice of authority to guide the group through. "Now... Honda?" he started, the teen blinking as he looked up and nodded. "I need you to take the Rook on Shizuka's side."

"Ah- Shizuka's-" The teen flushed, before receiving a fairly quick swat from the blond beside him. "ERF!"

"My sister is off limits," he said bluntly, eye twitching somewhat. "Jus' take th' piece." The teen hurriedly nodded, running off as Otogi turned toward the King.

"And us?" he asked, frowning somewhat.

"You can take the second rook," Yugi began, his friend doing just that as he headed for the one on the King's side "As for Anzu, if you could take the bishop..."

The woman nodded, moving toward it with another nod. "Right- I'll take Shizuka's then," she began, before turning to Malik to frown. "Ah... But..."

"I'll take Shizuka's knight," the Egyptian said plainly, giving the woman a smirk as he gestured to the piece beside hers. "I can hardly sit on your wrist like this, hm?"

Anzu stared for a moment at that before nodding in silence. Each one of them were now standing before their pieces, and with deep breaths each one stepped 'into' them, eyes shut in anticipation as the newly activated pieces shifted and twisted under their new hosts.

The rooks responded first. Claw-like legs spread out from the bottom, and rising out on the tops of both were two manned turrets, Otogi and Honda each looking down at their tanks in a mix of shock and approval.

The Bishop was next, the top breaking into a flower of sorts as the panels fell to the side, revealing in the center a great and glowing sphere under the control of the woman inside it.

And finally the knights. What were once horses reared their heads and shook off shards and chunks of stone, a large white vulture rising up at Anzu's side while a dragon snarled beside Otogi's rook. Metaloid feathers and scales shone in the air, shifting and clacking as each beast gave their own snarl... On the head of the Egyptian Vulture Malik stood straight, gripping a set of reigns tightly as he gave a quick nod to Yugi-

And as the Blue-Eyed dragon beneath him gave a rumbling cry Katsuya did the same with the reigns in his hand, barely finding his foot holds on the head as the dragon snarled. They were ready now he thought to himself, swallowing as the Black Chesspieces that countered their own chosen ones each shattered into demonic and fiendish forms from across the field. They were ready...

"GAME START!" Yugi roared, one of the pawns ahead seeming to hover in the air at his command. "PAWN TO D4!"

In a moment the piece responded, and just as swiftly the first of the blade armed knights across from them began to move for its play. Knight to F6, a shuddering and bodiless voice seemed to sneer, the King's eyes gleaming as he spoke. The knight easily leaped over his army's barrier, blade at the ready as he hissed and spread gold gilded wings behind him. The message was fairly clear; it was their move.

Yugi seemed to narrow his eyes from within the tower, arms crossed at what was a somewhat unusual start off move. "...Pawn to C4," he eventually decided, the next pawn moving its start off of two spaces forward. Now...

Another pawn floated outward from the other side, taking a rest beside the Knight as the grating and rumbling voice of their opponent again came over the air. Pawn to E6 the King stated, their own continuing to stare through the window in thought. His friend looked over from the window, giving the teen a slight look as his friend turned. "Jonouchi," he said clearly. "Are you ready?" Rea-

The blond nodded, smirking somewhat as his steed snarled and roared with anticipation. "Heh! Would I be here if I wasn'!" he laughed, pulling at his reigns. His friend merely returned the expression as Katsuya looked forward, pointing his dragon toward the field with a grin. "Go!"

"Knight to F3!" the boy beside them called out, their opponent taking the next move as Kastuya's dragon snarled. Wings beat at the air and the monster tore upward, leaping over their wall of pawns to come to rest on their appropriate square. "Now..."

Pawn to B6, the King snarled.

"Knight to C3," Yugi countered.

"Knight?" Malik repeated, before looking forward from the head of the buzzard he stood upon. "Understood, _Pr'ah_! Let's GO!" he shouted, the bird he was on taking off through the air to weave over and around the pawns in his way before alighting in its new position. "Your turn!" Heh...

Whoever said Chess was boring was probably only half right Katsuya thought briefly, watching as the Black Side's zombie-like pieces began to move again.

Bishop to B7. "Pawn to A3!" Pawn to D5. "The first pawn attacks!" Yugi announced, the black one having come into range. Standing at a diagonal the white pawn shuddered, before slamming into and through the black one from its position in the 'C' column to the D one. Dust littered the ground, and Katsuya swallowed as he looked at the wreckage now scattered across the field. Well...

He knew what would happen if they lost now.

Knight to D5, the Black King responded.

Shit.

With a blinding slash the knight struck the pawn in its way, stone scattering across the field as the demon cackled viciously. The blade on the Knight's arm was almost blood-red in colour, his armor a rusted gold. And the eyes that it had...

Rather _didn't_ have...

Yugi remained unphased by the demon as he stood at the control panel of the King's tower, merely continuing on. "Pawn to E3," he ordered, the others paling. Ack-

"YUGI!" Anzu shouted abruptly, "But Malik is still in the way of-"

"OHHH SHIT!" the blond shouted, his steed rearing angrily as the winged 'Shadow-knight' jumped the pawns in his path to cackle. "SHIT!" he repeated as the bird screeched. "SHIIIIT!"

Knight to C3, the bloody King announced coldly, Malik's steed narrowly dodging each strike from the monster. "Shit, shit, shi-"

"Pawn to C3!" Yugi shouted immediately, Malik knocked from his ride as the Knight's blade finally tore through his monster's throat. "Now Malik!" he called out, the Egyptian looking back as he fell amid the dust. "Take the Pawn!"

The pawn! As dust filled the air from the destroyed white Knight the field fell silent, nothing but the shadow of the Black one remaining. There was no sign of the remaining chess pieces, of Malik...

As it began to clear however, a cackle could be heard. Growing louder... And louder...

"Hehehehehe... Let's DO THIS!" Malik roared with a somewhat digitized voice, face barely visible in the cockpit of some strange mix between a gundam machine and a pawn. "ATTACK!"

" _GN_ -!" The Black Knight froze as Malik struck, metal fists knocking the demon's head from place with ease to reveal naught but dead bone and sinew. The rest of the body soon followed into ashes after the attack, collapsing into nothing but dust below- and with a slight smirk from the one controlling it the 'Pawn' turned to give the team's 'King' a small salute.

"Keep it up!" he shouted, giving their friend a curt nod. "We can't take too long after all!" No...

They couldn't, his mind whispered, the reason kept well hidden at the back of his mind. So they'd just have to continue playing.

Bishop to E7, the Black King ordered, the 'normal' of the two Bishop pieces hovering one square downward. "Bishop to B5," Yugi countered, his own 'faceless' piece doing the same. Time to play the waiting game Katsuya thought as the Black team sent a pawn to C6 to end its turn. The waiting game that came between attacks...

The bishop was forced to retreat to D3 and the black pawn had since moved a space forward. And now...

"I 'Castle'!" the boy shouted clearly to the crowd, the tower seeming to move toward Otogi's rook as the tank did the same. "Otogi..!"

"Got it," the teen answered, the two pieces charging the other as the tank and King both skittered forward on robotized legs. "Haaaah!" And as the two pieces switched and the remaining Black Knight took its move, those on the field continued to stare, waiting for what would happen next. Time to play the waiting game...

And pray that it ended well...

* * *

As they walked along the tunnels to Alcatraz island there was more than enough silence to be left to their own thoughts.

Mokuba's thoughts were stunted of course, what with a large number being blocked to hold him at his side. But that would change over a short amount of time- after all, it would be easy to replace those memories in the end, so what few thoughts Mokuba had right now mattered little. His own thoughts however had never been clearer, even during his time as a computer.

His father had abandoned him.

Like he had in life he'd abandoned him, casting him to the side like some discarded doll. His father had come back, only to abandon him...

But all the same his father was also dead. He'd jumped out a window and left nothing of himself behind. But ghosts didn't exist right, he asked himself as they came to the end of the hall to enter the next passcode.

Right?

The door to the outside opened from beneath a light pile of rubble, and as the door was pushed off the wreckage shifted completely, the pair stepping out outside. The rubble littering the ground even after these years shimmered in the late morning sun, with Mokuba running forward with a shout as he finally felt some real sunlight after the terrors of the Virtual World. "Ahaha! Alright!" he cheered, the ocean near the edge of the island giving its 'back-and-forth' rhythm of waves in response. "Finally! We made it..!"

"Hnhnhnhn... Excited?" Noa asked with a smirk, walking out behind the boy as his 'brother' turned back.

"Of course..!" Hnhnhn... This boy...

Such a nice boy. It made him almost regret blocking all of those memories, when he'd offered him a body that was truly his own. But his plan would never have worked he told himself, recalling Mokuba's words from within the computer as his eyes dimmed. Never...

It would never have worked without this, it couldn't have...

"...How about we leave this place?" he said with narrowed eyes, staring past his brother and to the ocean around them. They needed to leave. Leave all of this behind, forget about everything... Forget about the emotions he'd gleaned from his victims minds, the loyalties each person held for the other...

Mokuba turned toward the center of the island, nodding furiously as he looked up to Noa. "Right; we had a plane didn't we?" the boy shouted with a grin, his brother blinking somewhat confusedly. A plane? So they wouldn't have to find a helicopter or a boat in these ruins? "Let's go," Mokuba continued, pulling the blond off toward the tower in the distance with a smile. "We were supposed to leave during the explosion right?" Explo-

Ahhhh... His memories were already merging he thought to himself, a relieved smile coming over him. Of course... That was all.

' _Tch. You're twisted_ ,' he thought he heard someone say, Noa frowning as he was led over the wreckage of the artificial island. Who...

Who was that, he thought to himself, briefly looking back with a frown. Who...

"Over here," Mokuba was saying, pushing the keys to a staircase door in the tower. "Let's go!" he continued, "We don't have much time right?" Twenty minutes actually. But really he thought to himself, who was counting any direction other than down?

It took just a little under ten minutes to get here after all, so to say they were low on time wasn't at all a stretch. The next code was entered and the door clicked open, the duo entering the staircase to walk down through the darkness. Mokuba was already running ahead down the stairs in apparent excitement. The boy had no reason to believe that Noa wouldn't be right behind him after all, but even with this the blond was still hanging back, holding his head in a slowly increasing sting of pain.

Why, he asked himself, biting his lip as he stared forward. Why did it hurt...

" _This isn't YOURS,_ " the voice hissed, Noa narrowing his eyes. That voice...

The voice Katsuya called 'the white ghost'. But...

"...Ghosts don't exist," he said bluntly, seemingly to himself. "They can't exist..."

Even if Gozaburo seemed to be one, it was still impossible!

" _Hnhnhnhnhn... I am no GHOST,_ " the voice countered with a sneer, likely narrowing his eyes in the back of his mind. " _Merely a 'presence', forced to reside in another body with the absence of my own. And YOUR presence,_ " the ghost spat, " _Is not welcome here!_ " Please...

So now he was arguing with a voice in his head? "Tch... Get used to it," he growled, briefly wondering if he was losing his mind again. He'd done it while down there hadn't he? Gone insane... Not knowing how to cope with regained feelings, regained emotions...

Mokuba and Seto snapped him out of it somehow though, and in that moment he'd made his decision to take a body and live. To take a body and flee to the real world. But Katsuya...

Even after the first body snatch he hadn't shown any real anger for him. None at all. He was...

"...Such an idiot," Noa muttered, walking slowly down the stairs and continuing to grip at his head as another headache shot through his mind. "Ghh..."

" _Perhaps you're right,_ " the ghost responded, crossing his arms in the back of his mind. " _God only knows how someone with at least average intelligence can act so moronically half the time. But at least he has HONOR,_ " the spirit hissed, eyes narrowing further as Noa leaned against the railing to collapse somewhat.

Shut up, he thought to himself in response, only to flinch as a shadow passed him by. Shut u-

Another shadow.

What was that?

Noa held his head once again as the shadows swooped past, the pale and nearly translucent image of a black dragon and a ball of fur meeting his eyes, accompanied by a four winged 'eagle', a white dragon...

Red-Eyes, and Kuriboh, his mind told him. Simorgh, Blue-Eyes...

The creatures each stood before him, eyes narrowed in apparent rage as they blocked his path. "This... What is this..."

" _This isn't your power to control,_ " the ghost hissed, growling in the back of his mind. " _Leave..._ "

" _Grnnnnn..._ "

"No..."

" _Leave..!_ "

" _GRAAAAAAHH!_ "

"No!" he shouted, the sound echoing over the air. The white ghost cut his snarls short momentarily, Noa looking forward with crazed eyes. This...

He wasn't giving away this body! "And as for you," he hissed, looking to the small spirits before him. "HR _AH_!" A knife-hand strike was thrown through the beasts, each one vanishing with a short scream and a burst of shadows as they were cut in two. "Tch... You aren't getting rid of me," the blond growled, the ghost in his mind silent as Noa chuckled darkly. "Not for a while..."

" _...Tch. ...And here I thought I was a monster..._ " A monster? Please...

This was just human nature. "Noa-niichan?" Mokuba shouted from downstairs, the blond looking over the railing as his brother looked up from a few flights down. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there!" he called down with a somewhat unnerved tone, still clutching his head tightly. Right there. He would leave with his new brother, he would never go back... "...Who are you?" he hissed, running down the final length of the stairs with this in mind.

" _...No one you should concern yourself with,_ " the ghost snarled in response. " _Seeing how I'm 'not getting rid of you' for a while..._ " So the ghost couldn't do anything but talk then could he?

...Hnhnhnhn... That was right. He was free now, wasn't he? Noa continued to smirk as he speedwalked into the basement hangar, eyes widening as Mokuba ran toward their escape plan. The jet before him was huge... And had obviously been modeled off of a fighter jet, but with added details and extensions to shape it into something 'else'. The hull, the glass...

Everything was white save for the cock-pit which was obviously meant to remain completely transparent, but this...

"...Blue eyes," he muttered, looking to the plane and shaking his head as he stared at the delicately painted jet. She was far too obsessed with that thing he told himself, and...

...Well, he supposed he could fix these things later he decided, climbing up the steps that were provided for entry into the jet. Now that he had his own life to live. His own company to run. It would probably be a bad idea to try and return to the arms force, but no one said he couldn't sell the virtual technology for training programs right? ...Yeah...

"Come on Mokuba," he said after a brief moment, helping the boy into the cockpit as he gave him an honest smile. "Buckle in... We have a long ride..."

"Right..!" A long ride... Very long.

He took his seat, buckling himself in and tapping a button on the controls as the cockpit closed and sealed over. One switch was flicked, two, three, and the engine was starting as the exit from the place opened before them, a long runway ramping before them toward the hole where they would be launched forward. More switches were flicked, the engine roaring at its steady pace... The steering was ready, the catapult was-

' _He's been through enough,_ ' he could remember Katsuya saying, the blond freezing momentarily as he continued to go through the 'motions' of getting the jet to leave.

' _Maybe we can make you a body_ ,' Mokuba, the 'real' Mokuba had said.

' _I trust him, other me._ '

' _He's just a boy! Don't hurt him-_ '

' _Y' can't feel when yer like tha'. Y' can' think properly, y' can' act properly... I might not be able t' f'rgive 'm... But I sure as hell can' blame 'm either, not if he was like tha' f'r this long._ '

Not if he was...

…...

… Noa's hand paused as he came to the final switch, eyes dimming. This was it. He pushed this and the catapult would take them forward, and all that would remain would be controlling the aircraft. One simple action, that was all it would take but...

"...Niichan?" Mokuba asked from behind the seat, a frown on his face. "Is something wrong?" Of...

Of course not! "Nothing... Just..." Everything was fine, he told himself. Everything was fine. He had Mokuba, he had his brother, he-

" _Please... As though it's even 'really' him,_ " the ghost hissed, Noa's hand still shaking above the switch. He was going to destroy it all though, he thought to himself. Friends, family, everything, everything...

"Everything," he muttered under his breath, "I... Hngg..." His hand fell to the side, the blond gritting his teeth as tears began to run down his face. "Everything..."

All the thoughts he'd gleaned from their heads...

There were some that he'd missed.

' _...I'm sorry_ ,' Katsuya was whispering behind the scenes of his old memories, the ones he'd so locked away. _'I'm sorry about this...'_ And all the memories...

' _She is NOT your SON!_ ' his aunt screamed, Seto standing just outside the room without any clue as to what they were saying. Without any suspicion that she'd been found out...

All because...

' _...Dad,_ ' he had said that day. ' _This person... I did some research..._

' _Did you know she was a woman?_ '

Gozaburo found out because of him. But Aunt Herja, and his cousins...

They'd found out on their own, because they'd cared enough to question his father's actions, his crazed and depressed attacks. All of them... That family he'd left behind in that country...

There were people who cared but they'd moved on, they'd all moved on, they never even suspected that he was still alive!

"Hnggg..." And it was like Ota had said for his own situation...

He couldn't really go back. He couldn't go and tell them he was alive, because he...

"Hnnn... Hn _nhhh_..."

' _Even ONE life is worth it,_ ' Malik had snarled, even with the knowledge that the ones he'd come to know detested him above everything. ' _We are still the same..!_ '

"...Niichan?" his brother asked again from behind.

The switch was pulled down but it was not the one that would control the catapult. All of the switches that he'd flicked on were pulled back off as the engine was killed, the cockpit opening wide as he hopped out of the jet. Mokuba did the same albeit with hesitancy, and as the ghost in his mind held silent the blond swallowed, charging down the steps to run for the hall.

"N-Niichan?" Mokuba shouted, hopping out to run after the teen. "Noa-niichan!" he shouted out, "What are you-"

"We're going back," Noa said almost stiffly, head still pounding even as he re-opened the door out. "We're stopping the explosion and we're going back." 

"Wha... But Niichan!" his brother protested, "Why are we-" 

"Because even one life isn't worth losing," he responded, running off with the boy just barely catching up behind him as they charged up the stairs. "Even one life... ...If you can spare them all..."

This wasn't friendship, he tried to convince himself. It wasn't, it wasn't! 

But every time he looked back at the brother he'd so dreamed of having... And every time he looked at the dog-tags around his body's neck... 

"...Niichan..?" 

"Just run," he shouted back, looking ahead once more as he rounded a corner on the stair case. "We don't have much time!" 

" _You don't have any time at all,_ " his stowaway added. That was true he supposed... 

But they could still try, right?


	29. The Final Gate

The pacing lasted a few minutes.

One step around the other, slowly... Very slowly, only further increasing his fear as Malik's grin continued to face him and as the bloodied millennium rod sat in his hands.

'Mouse'. He called him a mouse, but for the moment he was a little too distracted to feel insulted. The fact was he felt like a mouse for the moment. Possibly something smaller than that even, such as a mite, or a flea.

Malik's back was to the hall now. Keiichi's was to the ruined computer. And for a moment he'd contemplated attacking before deciding against it.

They continued pacing. The door was behind him. Then the hall again. Now the wall. A clicking sound came from behind the door behind his opponent, and with the slight distraction it brought the Egyptian Keiichi charged, duel disk gripped like the blade he would use it for. Now...

Now, he told himself in panic as he brought the 'weapon' forward, face twisted with rage as he shouted.

NOW!

"HRAAA _AAAAHHHH_!"

The blades clashed, the millennium rod easily scraping over the duel disk to slash past and forward as Keiichi ducked and kicked back from the blow. He charged again. Ducking under another strike from the rod with alarming flexibility, attempting to slash at his opponent only to be forced to jump back once again, rolling back on the ground and running forward to try again. And then, finally, there was one opening... One he could use to simply impale the son-of-a-bitch on his duel disk and

_-fst_

"What..." For a slight moment, just a small one he stopped mid charge, time seeming to freeze as his eyes widened. Something had passed by his other cheek... Something sharp...

And his cheek, the uninjured one, was now stinging...

"Wha- G _HO_ -!"

That moment was all it took for the tables to turn and turn violently. Malik's blade had more than enough power behind it to throw him back as he was slashed across the chest and stomach, not that the rod itself wasn't likely helping to increase the weapon's power. Keiichi stumbled back as Malik cackled, hand flying to his stomach in response as an ugly and bleeding gash met his vision through a torn shirt and a partially severed shoelace holding the tauk.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Not done yet I hope?" Malik sneered viciously, walking toward the boy as he looked back up. "We've only just begun..." Please...

Don't...

The Egyptian charged again, Keiichi hurriedly bringing up the dueldisk for a block only for it to be knocked from his grip as the Rod swung forward. In one swift movement it was slashed back down, the blade sending a burning pain over his body and-

"Sh- KG _A-AH_!" This one threw him against the wall with all the force of a bag of bricks and throughout all the damage done his opponent laughed. Another gash across his chest had appeared now despite it being a much smaller one in size, and as he stumbled forward from the wall there was a second blow to slam him violently into the structure yet again.

"HNHNHAHAHAHA!" Stop laughing... "HAHAHAHA!" Stop laugh...

"GH... GHA _AAAAHH_!" His wounds were filling with fire, and pain was coursing through his every vein and artery. What...

_WHAT THE HELL WAS ON THAT BLADE_! What was it that was forcing this... This kind of...

Keiichi bit his lip while his thoughts began to merge and run in circles of each other, the boy looking forward as the shoelace around his neck fell lose. "Hngg... Ngghh..." What was on that...

Blade.

"HAHAHAAAA!" Malik was coming back, and this time the millennium rod's dagger tip was coming directly toward his throat. With wide eyes however it seemed to slow. His heart rate slowed. The blade slowed. _Move_ , he thought to himself, eyes unblinking as it came closer, as the blood that had stuck to the blade slowly wicked off drops of the fluid to the air. _Move_ , he repeated in his mind, _MOVE_!

- _thnk_ -

"Gh- WHAT!"

All he'd done was shift his head to the right, snapping past the Rod's effect of paralyzing fear at the last instant. That was all he'd done and the blade grazed his neck, just at his collar, narrowly avoiding the precious artery located there. As he ducked out of the way, snapping himself from his stupor Malik pulled at the blade in rage, steel and concrete serving to lodge it in place with alarming ease.

"Gh... Of all the... You SCUM!” he snarled, turning on his opponent as the boy fled around him. "FILTH!"

"Hng... Hgk..." Keiichi merely ignored his opponent's words, grabbing his duel disk from the ground before choking for breath. "Hng..." His neck...

He had to stop the bleeding on his neck...

It wasn't an arterial bleed or anything but he needed to stop it, and fast. The boy looked down at his shredded shirt, numbly ripping off a large scrap between the slashed ruins to tie around his neck in a frenzy of tangled and bloodied hair. It had to work he told himself, just for a moment, just for...

"Get OUT!" Malik roared at his weapon, still pulling at the millennium rod as Keiichi turned with his duel disk. The wound was bandaged... His other ones were still bleeding somewhat but for some reason or other he was still standing, and still willing to fight this madman. "AAAAAAGGGH... Get OUT GET OUT _GET OUT_!"

"Heh... Little... Stuck there?" he rasped, gripping his disk tightly as he ran to take advantage of his opponent's 'imprisonment'. "Let me HELP!"

He shouldn't have charged.

In that moment the rod was pulled free, and a flash of gold met his eyes. The tauk, loosened by the torn shoelace had fallen from its place but remained caught by the loops holding his belt. And though the crushing pressure of the millennium rod was still not at full power with it caught in the folds of his shirt it was enough to leave him gasping for air as he landed on the corroded and crushed computer at the side, sparking wires stinging against his face as he attempted to recover from a magically improved attack from the blond. The millennium rod hadn't even touched him, he thought with rasping breaths.

Malik had simply held it and he was thrown back, he...

"Gn... Hnk..." He was losing his advantage, if it could be called that. "Hnaa... Ah..." And the pain... It...

Hurt... So much...

Pain... "Hnhnhnhnhn... That was almost fun," Malik hissed, walking over as he twirled the rod in his hands to look down on the bleeding and crippled boy. "Why... That was more amusement than I'd ever expected from a mouse like you..." Gh... Ngh...

"Not... A mou- gk!" The blade was brought under his throat, and Keiichi gasped for air as his head was forced upward, the dagger poking against his neck as he willed himself not to swallow, not to speak.

"Why do you fight?" Malik sneered, narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you tell me?" Why?

Why did he fight? "M... Friends," he wheezed, narrowing his eyes before squeezing them shut in pain. Blood...

He was bleeding too much he realized, attempting to clear his vision as he opened his eyes again. The adrenaline had kept him going through the cuts and slices, but now that he wasn't moving... He was weak. So weak he told himself, he just wanted to...

Just wanted to...

Malik snorted at the excuse his victim had given him, leaning in as he pressed the blade closer to Keiichi's throat. "HAH! Friends... You mean that 'blind rat' in the other room you have eyes for?" he sneered, the grin across his face widening. "You don't really care for the others..." That...

That wasn't true he told himself. He didn't know them, but that didn't mean he wanted them dead! And...

...Blind...

"Not... Blind," he wheezed, eyes almost completely closed in his weakness. "Not... A raGRAA _AHHH_!" The blade dug deep into the already bleeding gash on his arm, before being pulled out as a fire-like feeling spread across the limb. The re-opened wound would be more than something to worry about, and as sparks continued to dance around him he flinched with pain. "Gh... Hah... Hahgg..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... So funny," Malik chuckled, licking the blood from his weapon with wide and amused eyes. "Only one cut and you cry like the mouse you are!" Gh... Stop... Tha-

Stop-

The blade came back. "GHHAAAAA _AAAAAAAAAHHHH_!" He'd gone again. Carving at the first slice on his chest to widen it further but why wasn't he dying yet, he was bleeding he knew that much and yet... "Gh... Hggh..."

"Hnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... You claim your friend isn't blind little mouse?" the teen was hissing, Keiichi's eyes drifting weakly across the panels and cables beside him as he continued to bleed out and weaken. "Perhaps so... But when I'm done with her," he continued, his victim's eyes drifting on a severed and sparking cable at the side before snapping back, "She will be..." Gh...

Not...

Not if he could help it!

Weak fingers reached out to his side as he closed his eyes and bit through the pain. As he reached around the plastic coated cable, gripped it in his hands and-

"GH-LK- HHH!" The blunt end of the rod slammed on his throat, crushing it and forcing him to drop the cable as he wheezed. "GK... Ghhaaaahhh... Ahhhh.." Air...

Air, he couldn't get any air, not enough air, not... The trachea was crushed, not completely thank god but it was enough that... That... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." That bastard...

Was laughing still!

"You know what," Malik chuckled maliciously, again spinning the millennium rod in his fingers. "I'm now glad you stopped me. You've given me a wonderful idea... Because the last thing your 'friend' is going to see is your mutilated corpse," the blond spat with his wide eyed grin, "Before I do the same to everyone else in this building!" No...

No...

He couldn't let him!

His fingers were wrapping around the cable. He still couldn't breathe but he had to, he had to, and Malik was fingering the blade as he kept his eyes on the carnage rather than the minute resistance. "Any last words, little mouse..?"

"Y ... s..." There was... This, he thought, bringing his hand closer as he pulled the live wire in, tightening his grip as he looked up weakly. This, and only this... "Gd... 's... C'nd'ct..." His words were caught in his throat. "B'ch..."

He needed to clear his voice, say this one last thing. The millennium rod was pulled back in preparation for an attack and for just one short instance he felt a rush of energy fill his body. "What was that?" Malik asked laughing, wide and menacing grin looking down upon him from above as his victim wheezed. "I can't hear you!" he roared, bringing the blade toward the boy's face.

And then as he brought his arm up in defense it stopped, caught against sparking cables and electricity before it could come close.

"I said," he rasped, Malik's body jerking and tensing as the live wire glued itself the the blade in his hands and shocked him completely, giving him no chance of escape from the sparks hold, "That gold... Is a super-conductive metal... _Bitch_."

With a strong tug the cable's other end was ripped from its socket, Malik's limp body collapsing to the ground with the rod in his hands. A few more twitches came over the air from the somehow still living monster, eyes staring blankly at nothing. Sparks still danced along the golden blade, and as Keiichi stood he slowly pulled out the tauk that was somehow still on his person, the cord having somehow looped around his belt. There it was...

Shining blankly... And he...

He'd won. The boy wheezed as he collapsed to the floor from the table, before weakly pulling himself to his feet as he continued to choke. He had to get... Malik back to the ship, he told himself, grabbing the violet coloured cloak that the teen wore around his shoulders, pulling it forward as he stumbled down the hall. He needed... To get to the ship...

Blood was falling everywhere he thought dully to himself, the room he left behind resembling a scene from a horror film as Malik's unconscious form spread what fell to the ground in a sick trail. Falling everywhere... Staining his clothes, the 'bandage' he'd made on the fly...

His duel disk was somehow still attached to his arm along with everything else on his person, not that it resembled a duel disk any more. And he was...

Alive. And he was...

He felt... So...

Weak...

As he collapsed in front of the airship's steps the last thing he heard was a shout for a doctor and a calm voice as Ishizu's blurred form ran close. ' _Congratulations young one,_ ' the voice whispered, hands of light seeming to brush against his bleeding face in a show of comfort. ' _You have succeeded... By your actions... The Pharaoh is safe...'_ By his...

...Hn..! Whatever, he thought dimly, closing his eyes over. He...

He better get a new dueldisk for...

This...

…

_It hurt_...

' _Quick... Stop the bleeding!_ '

* * *

They'd cut a few minutes of time from the ten it would take to return, running as fast as they had been able to through the halls. The speed differences however were becoming somewhat painful, and as he looked back Noa grit his teeth. "Hah.. Hah... Hah... N-Niichan," his brother whispered, breathing becoming laboured. "I can't... I can't keep running, I..." Mokuba was quickly grabbed around the waist, Noa not even looking down as he took the boy under his arm and picked up speed. They needed as much time as they could get...

"I'll carry you then," he told his brother, still running as fast as his body allowed. Five minutes down, plus the few others spent outside... "We need to hurry," he'd told the boy as they entered the main computer room, "Before-"

- _BRAM!_

The two both froze, Noa looking up to where the glass window above the computer room sat. The windows encompassed two different rooms. The pod room, which was locked to the outside...

And the power control room outside it. "No," he hissed, watching as sparks flew from behind the red-flecked glass before disappearing from sight as the lights dimmed with it. "NO..!"

Mokuba was let down to the ground, the blond running to the computer as he turned on the devices in panic. Please, please, please don't be-...

-Entering Safe Mode,\- the computer announced monotonously. -All wireless communications disabled for power conservation. All primary functions locked. Manual Override disabled for power conservation.\- And so on, so forth and...

If he tried to hack into the device it would simply shut down.

'Primary Functions' included power and settings for the wireless network. The wireless network was the only way to reach the satellite.

And now he couldn't do even that. "No no no NO," he repeated under his breath. "No, no, no..."

"Niichan?" Noa continued to stare at the screen in horror, stepping back as he held his hands over his mouth as his 'brother' approached from behind. "Noa-niichan?" he asked, not looking directly at the screen which now flashed a timer for attack. "What's wrong..." Everything.

Everything was wrong, everything, he couldn't stop the launch, he couldn't!

" _Then what do you plan to do brat?_ " the ghost in his mind hissed.

…

There was only one thing he could do, was there. "Mokuba," Noa said slowly, bowing his head as he swallowed and gripped the table. "I need to do something... Something important," he whispered, taking a shuddering breath.

"...What kind of thing?" the boy asked quietly. That thing...

"When we left the Virtual World," he began, taking yet another shuddered breath. "Something went... Wrong..."

"...With me?" Mokuba asked aloud.

...Yes. Noa nodded, biting his lip as he shook. "Both of us really," he added honestly. "Listen... ...I'm sending you in again so that I can fix it, alright?" he continued with a somewhat broken smile, turning to the boy with yet another swallow. "You... You trust me right..?"

Mokuba nodded, but it was with the blocked memories that he did so, and not with the memories he originally had available. So no...

Not after this. "Of course," the boy shouted. But not really... "I'll always trust you!" No he wouldn't... "What kind of question is that?" Please...

Stop talking. The blond forced a smile on his face as he guided Mokuba back up the stairs, whatever carnage occurring in the other room unable to affect them for the moment. He guided him to the pod that had been left open in his wake, closing it over as his 'brother' lay back and got himself comfortable...

"It'll only take a moment," he whispered to the boy, holding the glass panel. "Just a moment..."

"I know," Mokuba said with a smile, lying back and closing his eyes. "See you in a bit, Noa-nii..."

No.

He wouldn't. And as the pod sealed the boy fell into a deep 'sleep', Noa again swallowing as he turned away. There.

He was in.

Noa swallowed, taking a deep breath as he turned to the computer the pods were connected to. There was no use in using the 'Military' computer to access all of this. The basic system the pods were set upon would be more than enough he knew that much, and if he went back downstairs it would just seem like he was hiding anyways. And he couldn't do that.

...But would there be enough time? A clock came onto the screen at the side as Noa took a seat at the computer, flicking the monitor on and beginning to work on the program. Eleven minutes left... Soon to be ten.

"They're going to be pissed," he muttered, swallowing nervously as he set up a headset. "More than pissed," he continued to whisper, "They'll..."

" _At least you're doing something 'good',_ " the ghost in his mind muttered, before again falling silent.

Yeah... There was...

That. "...I certainly hope it's 'good'..."

* * *

Knight to C6, the Black King announced after Yugi's castling move, the second demonic figure coming forward as it hopped over the equally frightening bishop that had stood in place for a majority of the match. The blade gleamed under a falsely created sun, and as it stood before them the team narrowed their eyes.

"Hnn... Anzu!" Yugi called out, the woman nodding from within her 'sphere' as they both looked toward their opponent. "It's your turn..! Bishop to B2!" he announced, the structure Anzu stood within abruptly ripping from the ground like some great plant.

"Alright," she called out, the panels that made up the bottom of the hovering device spinning as she moved. "I'm ready!" And good thing too.

Rook to C8... The skull and bone lined tower moved across the ground at the order of the King, almost slithering to the monstrous Queen's side as both pieces leered at their opponent.

"Hn... Queen to E2," their own King countered, Shizuka seeming to hover in the air as she did just that. And as the queen came just a few spaces forward the black King saw his approaching threat, making his next move.

_CASTLING_ , their opponent responded, thunder cracking across the air. The clouds above blocked out the sun, filling the air with cold winds and vicious winds. "Ack- What the-" Those on the field looked up as thunder continued to boom, lightning striking nearby as rain began to fall. "What is this!"

"Since when was the weather affected by this-aru!"

"Awww hell," Otogi muttered, ducking somewhat from where he stood on his own chess piece. "I'm all wet..."

"Hnn... Honda! Move your Rook to D1!" Yugi called out, the teen nodding from atop his legged tank. The weather might have been crummy after all, but there was work to be done.

"Got it!" he called out, pulling on the turret controls as the tank began to move, other pieces following after in a mix of demonic visage and blank black stone. Queen to C7...

"Malik! C4!"

"Going," the now armored teen responded, the pawn charging his one step forward. "And now-"

Pawn takes D4, the Black King snarled from his spot, one of the pawns shattering into a boned foot soldier as it charged to come at Malik's side. "Tch... Suddenly, I hate being a pawn," the teen muttered, looking to the opponent that he could no longer attack or block as it snarled at him and gestured with a gilded and clawed hand. "Damn it..."

"That's fine Malik," Yugi shouted from the tower, flipping through another row of switches to move another of his available pawns. "Pawn to D4!" he roared, moving the piece in question to completely crush the opponent beneath stone. Knight, A5. "Pawn, D5!" Pawn, D5.

"HEH!" The teen grinned from within his 'gundam', rushing forward with a clenched fist as the black pawn sat over the ruins of their last piece. "My turn then! Pawn to D5," he cackled, jumping the diagonal as he sent a fist forward. "ATTACK!"

"Wait, MALIK!" their 'King' cried, eyes wide.

"MALIK," the others shouted.

"Eh?" The pawn blinked, slowly turning as the formerly motionless and horribly disfigured Bishop turned its head from the side to grin from its skull and skin face. There was a perfect line between...

Them.

"...SHIT..!"

BISHOP ATTACKS THE PAWN- D5!

"MALIK, JUMP!" There was not another word to be said, at least not to argue. As the glass shattered across the 'mecha' of the Pawn Malik pulled himself away as quickly as possible. And as to what he landed on...

"Bishop, H7!" KING, H7, "Rook!" Yugi shouted, Honda driving the tank forward as multiple guns began firing toward where Malik fell, "D5!"

"H-HHAA _AAHHH_! SHII- OOF!"

"Stop screaming damn it!" A clawed hand snatched Malik up from where he'd been clinging to the Bishop's staff, the bishop in question having been taken out by the fired ammunitions when Honda had charged. "You're hurting my ears!"

"They can't be that sensitive," the former snake muttered, clambering up to the bridge of the rook with a frown.

"Well they ARE!" Honda retorted, Malik staring at him somewhat blankly.

"What are you a dog?"

"ERF! NO!" he protested. "No way-aru!"

"..."

Malik found laughter the far more amusing option this time around, but Honda's response had the others fairly silent as they stared at the teen in incredulity. Whatever other comments that could come in response were cut short however as the game continued on.

King, G8, the Black King rumbled from far off, the frightening and imposing monster returning to his square as Malik looked up from where he now sat on the multi-limbed tank. "Oh come on, seriously..? We have him in check and he does that?"

"What the hell-aru... How are we supposed to get anything done?" Honda growled, before another one's words cut his own short.

"Hnnn... Bishop, G7," Yugi called out, the others widening their eyes in response. The 'Bishop' was Anzu though... And G-7 was right beside...

"Ah- Y-YUGI!" Otogi shouted incredulously, the Bishop that was Anzu having no choice but to move as it hovered through the air with her inside. "That's suicide, she'll-" The look on Yugi's face quite clearly said to 'shut up' for the moment, and as Anzu's bishop moved forward it seemed that the woman knew just what Yugi was planning by this.

"Gh... I'll see you soon!" she shouted hopefully, biting her lip as she turned back. "Got it!"

"See- WH- WAIT, WHAT!?" Malik roared, gripping the railing of the rook he was on. "WAIT! ANZU!"

"Anzu!"

Shit-!

The King's blade cleaved the Bishop's structure cleanly in two, sending both thankfully horizontally sliced halves to the ground. Stones littered the field, and Anzu clung to the prison she'd been kept in until that point, her eyes squeezed shut as the 'gem' she was inside clattered against the plain. And when the smoke cleared...

The Bishop's stone was too coated with dust to see or hear if anything was alive in there at all, with no sounds coming forth. "A-Anzu," Katsuya muttered, swallowing as the others looked to Yugi's chesspiece. "She..."

"Yugi," Malik hissed, looking off to the side. "What do you think you're-"

"Knight, E5," the boy called out before the sentence could be completed, not looking up from the panels before him. "...I'm trusting you, Jonouchi." Trusting him...

...Right. He knew what this was then.

"...I got it," he responded, the white dragon he stood upon charging forward with a snarl as it leaped into the air. "But y' better hope tha' she comes back when we win!" Don't worry, his mind told him.

She would.

And Yugi seemed to nod at that, the Black king's faint 'Rook-D5' echoing in the distance as the bone 'tower' crawled forward. "Don't worry," he said seriously, fists clenched as he tapped a few more keys. "She will..! Now... Queen to G4!" the boy called out, Shizuka again moving at a diagonal in her seemingly hovering form as she narrowed her 'eyes'. This game was getting uneasy...

The King had moved himself back further, to F8. But Yugi wasn't done with the Queen just yet, placing her in another place.

"Queen to F5." Pawn, F6, the opponent muttered in response, as though to goad Shizuka into an attack. The Queen however did nothing, and a second later Yugi's next order tore across the field. "Jonouchi," he shouted clearly, "Get ready to jump!"

"W-What!" Oh shit, don't tell him...

...Actually, now was a really good time to take advantage of the impersonal-ness of being a computer. Who cared if he died, he could just... Re-boot himself...

…

Right?

Yeah just keep thinking that, he told himself.

"KNIGHT TO D7!" Yugi roared, the dragon rearing as it charged forward. ROOK TO D7, the Black King countered, the dragon beneath Katsuya's feet barely landing to the ground before the Rook's eyes gleamed with light.

ATTACK!

The jaw of the monster across from him snapped open in an instant as the blond kicked off of his dragon, dust and stone flying through the air as his hearing was momentarily destroyed in the face of the explosion. 'Rook to D7!' he thought he heard Yugi shout at that moment, Katsuya tilting his head back as two others waved from an attacking tank. 'Hurry!' Those two...

"Hey! Blondie!" Malik shouted, stepping back as the blond in question landed flat on his back with a grunt. "Nice landing." Ugh...

Yeaaah... "Thanks," he grunted, pulling himself up with a slight wince, "An' who th' hell 'r y' callin' 'blondie', blondie?"

"Psh, mine's at least more white than gold," the Egyptian bragged with a nonchalant shrug. "It gives me a more 'exotic' look..."

"Exo- I'll show you exotic," he muttered, Honda rolling his eyes behind them.

"Are we seriously arguing about this-aru..?"

"YES."

"NO-"

" _Can everyone hear me?_ "

All conversation ground to a halt with those words, those on the field looking upward with wide eyes. The sky hadn't cleared one bit... But even so it seemed to have been divided with those words, the others looking up in incredulity as 'Seraph' hovered above to act as a mouthpiece.

"That voice..." Malik swallowed, clenching his fists as he looked up at the program. "But that's... Your voice-"

Katsuya instantly gained a look of rage as his own voice echoed through the air, face growing red despite the emotion not truly being there. "Gh... Noa..!"

"Ah- NOA!" a number of the others shouted.

"Bastard," the shorter blond growled, looking up to the sky. "Gimme my body back y' prick!"

"And the others too while you're at it," Otogi added from the side, still positioned beside Yugi's King piece.

There was a short sound of exasperation, Noa evidently in a tight spot from wherever he was outside. " _There's no time to deal with this_ ," he said curtly, his voice echoing over the air. " _You already know that I'm in Katsuya's body right now,_ " the 'boy' continued seriously, his voice sounding rushed, " _But I intend to return it. However, there are missiles aimed toward this fortress. They will fire in ten minutes,_ " Noa shouted in near panic, " _And I cannot stop them! It's one thing if your bodies are the only things destroyed,_ " he went on with an audible swallow. " _But if everything is destroyed that world goes with it; you'll all die," the teen continued, "And not even technology will save you at that point!_ " Mi...

A flash came to mind, along with a burst of data as Katsuya slowly looked to the ground. Missiles. Aimed directly at their location, hovering thousands of kilometers above...

This...

"This... Tell me he's bluffing," Malik muttered with a swallow, slowly turning to the blond at his side. "...Now..." He wished he could...

He really did, now that the computer itself was in danger but... "He ain't bluffin," Katsuya muttered with wide eyes, shaking his head in fear. Not at all... "We got abou' twelve minutes t' get out an' fly th' hell outta here," he swallowed, looking back to the sky and shaking his head.

"Twelve?" Honda muttered from the side.

"...The time it takes for the missile to reach earth can be added on," Malik muttered, narrowing his eyes and continuing to grip the railing. "But why would there be missiles aimed at this place any ways?"

There was silence in response to that. Those below began to pale with realization and in the end it was Shizuka who spoke, the Queen piece looking up with wide lenses and hovering panels. "You... You were going to leave us here... Weren't you?" she asked with a shuddering rumble, seeming to pull back with a choke as she clutched her 'chest'. "You were going to leave and destroy anything you left behind!"

"This..."

"Bastard," Honda hissed, Malik as well narrowing his eyes. "You were just going to kill us all?" Silence was their response, and the former hound continued to snarl. "You... Why the hell should we trust you-aru!" Well...

"...I trust 'm," Katsuya said shortly, arms crossed. The others turned at that and the blond continued. "I mean... Y' came back f'r some reason righ'?" Because it wouldn't make sense for him to come back to deliver the message in a panic if he wasn't trying to help, the computer told him. "So y' can' be tha' bad f'r th' momen'... ...But I ain't gonna f'rgive y' if this really is a trick," he warned just as quickly, scowl deepening as he looked upward. "Got tha'?"

" _...I understand_ ," Noa said calmly, after holding his silence for a number of seconds more. " _Alright... Now. For you to leave, you need to complete this fight,_ " the 'boy' told them, those on the chesspieces looking toward the King in response as the demon snarled. " _Bring the King into Checkmate and you'll be able to escape!_ " Alright. That was easy enough!

"But... What about Kaiba-han?" Shizuka called up, large and 'faceless' metal head looking upward in apparent fear. "And Mokuba-kun?"

" _They'll be fine_ ," the 'boy' responded, almost too quickly for Katsuya's liking. " _I can track their locations with this computer... I'll make sure they escape as well,_ " he called out, " _Trust me..!_ " Trust him...

Most would say otherwise but for the moment... Alright! They would do that!

The Black Queen stood beside them already despite this confidence though, but while they spoke it had thankfully moved two 'spaces' south. It was now their turn.

Their time to continue the game...

"...Noa... You had better keep your word," Yugi warned, before making his move. "Queen to H7," he ordered, Shizuka doing so with a curt nod as she vanished behind a majority of the black pieces. "Let's go!" And now...

For the game to continue!

Rook to C7. "Queen to H8." King to F7. "Rook to D3." The tank gave a loud and shuddering rumble with those words, Honda spinning the turret on its point as the many limbs began to spiderwalk their vehicle toward the designated area.

Knight to C4, they heard in the distance, the black Knight in question storming toward the space that was only just one block from them. It was a little strange actually, how the Knight couldn't attack them at close range with a blade. Not to say he wasn't appreciating that fact or anything (damn it computer brain...)...

But the end result of this match was slowly revealing itself to him, a multitude of data-bursts forcing their way through the wall. "Otogi!" Yugi called out as the move from their opponent was played. "D1."

"Got it," the teen responded as he moved his turret over, stopping just a space away from his allies. "Hey, Honda! Jonouchi!" he called out, waving as Malik blinked.

"And me?" he asked semi-hopefully, the teen merely giving a completely blank look in response.

"...I was ignoring you."

"Nice," the Egyptian growled. "Real nice..."

The black Knight behind them had moved to E5 while they spoke but for the moment they were ignoring the fact that it was again a threat to their wellbeing and again within the range of attack.

"Happy t' finally move Otogi?" Katsuya shouted from the Rook's rail, the teen snorting from where he was manning the turret.

"Depends on your definition of 'happy'!" he shouted back, before Yugi's own call drowned him out.

"Queen to H7," the boy announced, Shizuka moving to put the Black King in check for the second time that battle as the demonic being gave a shudder. King to E6...

"Oh come on," Malik groaned, "Stop running!"

"It's only natural-aru," the teen beside him muttered under his breath, "It doesn't want to lose-aru."

"Errrrggghhh... I don't care," the Egyptian growled, "I want it to stop..."

"Queen to G8!" Yugi roared. King to F5. Be nice to be a Bishop about now...

...But sadly they weren't.

"Pawn, G4!" King, F4, the monster countered, those on the Rooks staring with narrowed eyes. The play was clearing up. The trap was making itself known, and slowly but surely the final moves were coming into view.

"Hang on," Otogi muttered, watching as the paths around them began to clear, and as the King continued to move. "Is it just me or..."

"Honda! D4!" Yugi called out, the turret doing just that as the driver took aim toward the king. "CHECK," the teen announced with a barking snarl, the gun locking and loading as he narrowed his eyes.

"You think it'll last?" Malik muttered dryly from the railing, the blond beside him shrugging.

"Eh, don' ask me, I'm jus' th' computer," he answered smartly.

"Helpful."

"Heh. Yeah!" the blond laughed, before a somewhat dark and detached smirk came over his face. "But take a look..."

The final move was here. King to F3, the monster called out, standing before one of the pawns as Yugi's chuckling came over the air.

Yeah. He saw it now too, didn't he!

"Hnhnhnhnhn... I win," the boy within their King Piece said clearly, those on the Rooks turning abruptly as Shizuka's Queen bolted around the backs of them to point an authoritative arm forward. "QUEEN TO B3!"

"B- B 3?!" Malik repeated, looking behind them with wide eyes. "But how is that-"

"There's a path," Honda muttered incredulously, turning to stare himself as Katsuya smirked darkly. "There's a perfectly diagonal..."

A nice long path that had been cleared up since Shizuka came to that last square, waiting for the King to come within range...

"CHECKMATE!" Yugi announced, the 'tower' he stood in opening with those words as he looked toward the sky with narrowed eyes. "Gozaburo," he continued loudly, the clouds above reeling in rage as the rain stopped, "You LOSE!"

Which meant it was time to leave.

But how exactly would they do that he wondered, before freezing as an odd sensation of 'power' came over him.

-Begin Download-, a voice in his mind muttered.

"E... Eh..?" Katsuya blinked, before paling even more as the wall he'd erected began to whittle away, slowly but surely allowing a steady stream of data and programming to fill his mind.

Ohhh hell, he thought, hurriedly attempting to keep hold of the memories that allowed him to act like himself, _ohhh hell_..!

"Hn? Jonouchi?" Malik muttered, turning with a frown as he stared at the blond with narrowed eyes. "What's going on?"

...Damn it...

Katsuya showed no visible sign of emotion as he looked to the Egyptian, eyes blank as the computer took over. Hn. As if knowing things before they happened was bad enough, this...

Well. The blond turned to the others, slowly raising his hand with the same expression of blankness that was so unlike him. "Sorry 'bout this," he said clearly, those on the field frowning as the field seemed to scatter and dissolve into dust from around them. "But you guys need t' wake up..."

* * *

" _An' I ain't comin' with jus' yet._ "

That was the last thing he heard before the field vanished from sight, before his connection to the Millennium Puzzle was fully restored, and before his real eyes began to open to take in the scenery. Well...

His lighter half opened his eyes. He himself was more than content to scan his soul for any sign of that white ghost that had intruded upon it before, searching as many of the halls as he could without losing himself within them. It felt like there was something there... Something dark, albeit small but...

Nothing. There was nothing there, and in the end he settled for misting back to his partner's side to watch and listen to whatever was going on. In the real world after all, Yugi, the 'light' Yugi was slowly sitting up as the glass from his pod rose up, looking around with somewhat wide eyes as the others as well moved to awaken.

"We... We're..."

"So these are the pods," Shizuka muttered, slowly climbing out as she looked around. "This..."

"We're back," Yugi whispered, stepping out of his own pod. "We're...”

Honda was the next to speak beyond surprise and relief, hurriedly looking himself over with wide eyes as he choked on his words. "H-Hey... Do I still seem 'dog-ish'?" he asked in panic, checking every possible part of himself with fear before looking toward the others. "I mean... I don't want to-"

"You're fine," Otogi said with a slight wave, leaning over the pod with a wince. "Just don't go looking for a tail and you're fine..."

"Perfectly fine," Mokuba added from his own pod, giving a stretch and a yawn as he moved to step out. "Hnng... Took a while for Noa to get me out though," he muttered, cracking his neck as the others stared. "I feel like I was out for half an hour..." Erm...

Close, Yugi thought with a somewhat nervous laugh. It'd have been fairly dangerous if it was really a half hour though...

_'Still,_ ' he muttered to his other self in the back of his mind, ' _I can't believe we escaped by playing GUNDAM CHESS..!_ '

' _Hnhnhnhn... It was quite fun actually,_ ' the spirit chuckled, his partner mentally groaning.

' _Yeah, but I missed it..! How often would I have gotten the chance to play something like that!_ '

' _Pray you never do,_ ' his partner said honestly, the horrors of the game only dimly coming to mind despite how recent their escape had been. ' _Now..._ '

Anzu held her head as she stood from the pod behind the group, the others turning with somewhat cautious eyes as the woman looked over to stare at them in response. "...Hn!" The woman snorted, shaking her head. "I don't see any difference between you and the dog," she said after a moment, stretching her arms as Honda growled in response.

"Gh- You..!"

"Wait," Otogi muttered, eyes widening. "Does that mean you're..."

The others paled, 'Anzu' crossing her arms as her eyes flashed gold from the side of the VR-Pod. "She's perfectly fine," Malik muttered, narrowing the body's eyes as the more masculine pattern of speech came through. "She's just tired- being 'killed' does that to you," he added dryly, Mokuba staring incredulously as the others merely frowned.

"I really am fine though!" the woman abruptly shouted out, a somewhat more feminine pattern of speech hitting the air as eyes went blue and brown again. "Just... Hwaaaah... Like he said," she muttered, before her expression again switched out completely.

"...Tired." Golden... Her eyes were golden again, so then...

"Ahhhhh... This is so confusing," Otogi muttered under his breath, holding his head as 'Malik' made 'her' way over. "And this is going to last how long again?" the taller of the group muttered, Mokuba only just managing to snap himself from his frozen shock.

"Wait," he shouted, looking at the others, " _MALIK_ is here!?"

"He is," a clear, if not familiar voice stated from the side of the room, despite all traces of an accent vanishing to be replaced by more polite and upperclass terms. "...But he's your ally," the voice continued seriously, "No doubt about that..." That voice...

The others turned to where it seemed 'Jonouchi' was typing rapidly on a keyboard, headset firmly placed upon his head as he stared to the screen. The blond's expression was just as foreign as the real one's had been within the computer, set in a severe gaze that was locked with the screen across him.

"For now, you should be getting to the airship?" he was telling them, still typing away as his eyes occasionally narrowed in focus. "I don't know how much longer I'll be... But if it comes to the worst I have two re-breathers in the building for emergencies," he added with a look back to the others, "And the explosion won't reach the exit tunnel."

"Exit tunnel?" Mokuba repeated, before shaking his head as he recognized the speech patterns he was hearing. "Wait... You-!"

"Noa," Yugi said with a swallow, the blond in the seat nodding as he briefly paused to look back. "...But... What about..."

The others looked to the side at the single occupied pod, the unspoken question easily caught as the timer ticked down to 'six minutes remaining'. "Katsuya can't leave until I go back into the pod," he said plainly, typing as quickly as possible on the keyboard while he looked back to the screen. "He knows this," Noa continued seriously, "But the problem is Seto's location. My father forced her into a game," he explained, swallowing in unease and biting his lip. "And until it's complete, she's not getting out..." Trapped in a game..?

"Then... Jonouchi-kun is..." Yugi swallowed, before narrowing his eyes and stepping forward. "...Noa-kun," he said quickly, the others blinking as their former captor looked back. "Put me back in the machine!"

"E-EH!" Mokuba coughed, shaking his head and looking at the boy incredulously. "Y-Yugi..! We have to get out though!" he shouted, "We don't have time to-"

"I need to help him," the boy said determinedly, the others staring as an oddly fierce look appeared on their friend's face. "No matter what, I have to-"

"I understand," Noa responded plainly, "But Mokuba is right- there's no time for something like that," he warned the boy, "And-"

Text began to flash across the screen, Noa pulling back with wide eyes as both he and the others turned to read it and choke.

"Ah..."

"This..."

' _Don't Worry_ ,' the text read clearly. ' _I'll be alright._ '

'... _Run_ ,' it went on, the few characters staring forward one the screen. ' _Run_.' And again. ' _Run_.' And again. ' _Run_.' Again... Again... Again... _'Run. Run. RUN.'_

"R-Run..." Noa's fingers weren't touching the keyboard...

Noa looked just as frightened as they were... Yugi swallowed as he and his other self stared at the screen, the message repeating in an almost insane mantra before another line appeared.

' _I can see you still there- RUN_!' What...

'See'..? "He... He can see us?" Malik hissed, the eyes he was sharing with Anzu widening considerably as he turned on Noa in horror. "He can SEE us..!"

"The cameras..." The others looked down at Noa, watching as the blond swallowed and continued to stare at the screen. "He's connected to everything in this building right now," the teen went on nervously, "He's using the cameras... But that means..." He shook his head, gritting his teeth and turning to the others with narrowed and serious eyes. "All of you, get out of here now, got it?" he said quickly, the others staring a moment before he pointed to the clock. "We're wasting time- Go!"

"Right," the others agreed, turning to leave before Yugi paused and looked back. "...Jonouchi-kun," he called out, looking to the screen as it went blank, as though waiting for the boy in the room to speak. "If you can hear me... Make sure you get out," the boy went on, "And that you bring Kaiba-san with you, alright?" Yugi swallowed as he continued on, biting his lip. "We... We have a match right?" he asked with a somewhat weak smile. "So... Make sure you get out... And..."

"...Why are you doing this?" Mokuba asked, he as well staying behind as the others ran off, the scene behind him unknowingly hidden behind holograms as the one within the computer shielded the gruesome scene in the next room from the sight of those he knew would care. "Noa," he whispered, staring at the 'teen' in confusion. "You said you hate my sister... But you..."

The blond was silent for a few moments, not looking back. "There's something this body keeps telling me," Noa whispered, subconsciously grabbing at the dog-tags still hanging around his neck. "Something important... ...I don't want her to die," he continued, bowing his head as he shook. "...No matter what. I don't want her, or anyone here to die... I..."

"Noa..."

"...I... ...Noa," Mokuba said with a swallow. "...I'm sorry we didn't listen to you before," he said quietly, "I..."

"Hn!" The blond snorted, shaking his head. "It's only expected that you wouldn't believe me... But there's no time for that sort of thing now," he continued, gesturing to the clock that now read three minutes. "You need to run... Understand? Get back to the ship..!"

"Got it," Yugi shouted, running for the door.

"Make sure you escape too!" Mokuba added, Noa merely smiling sadly as he turned back to the screen. It was all fine to say something like that after all...

But he couldn't simply 'compress himself' and email himself off. The mind was too complex for that, and who would be able to 're-open' him? Besides... He was already dead.

This was just his last act before going 'home'.

* * *

Many moments before the others had escaped and the Chess match ended there was another battle that had started in the middle of the empty space of the computer. The competitors were 'normal'-ish in appearance again. Seto still held her ghostly glow but her 'father' at least appeared as the man he had been when he died, not a single hair on his mustache out of place.

A fairly misleading form to take, in her opinion. "Let's get this over with," Seto hissed as the cards around her vanished, the image of her deck appearing in her mind as a hand of cards appeared to spin around her like some orbital and planetary ring. "I plan on leaving this hell as far behind me as possible..."

"Hnhnhnhn... Don't be so hasty," Gozaburo sneered, eyes narrowed from across the dark field. "After all... This fight will decide on your life. I'll move first," he continued, snapping his fingers as a holographic card appeared behind him. "Any person in charge of a company," he explained, "No matter the size, must make a difficult decision at some point in their life." And the point? "I play 'Painful Choice'," the man announced, "Which allows me to choose five cards from my deck and-"

OH he had better not waste his time with _THAT_! "If you plan on fighting seriously," Seto warned, wisps of smoke seeming to blow off her form as her anger grew, "You will end that sentence there, rather than taking me for a fool in the game that I excel at most..." Honestly...

She knew full well what the card did! Gozaburo would pick five cards from his deck. She would choose one to be added to his hand, while the rest were discarded, but-

"Here then," her 'father' chuckled darkly, five panels taking the place of the spell he'd activated as his opponent continued to hover in space. "You know so much... Make your move!" Gladl-

The woman paled as she looked toward the cards, each one pulling from her mind a horrifying memory she had long since attempted to push to the back of her thoughts. These cards... The Left Arm. The Right Arm. The Left Leg, Right Leg, _EXODIA_! He had all five of the cards there, and he'd now given her the option of discarding all but one but...

This monster...

' _A moment of atonement,_ ' she could hear in the back of her mind, heart beat racing as she stared the cards down. The other Yugi's hand was thrown forward and with the motion to 'squeeze'... ' _MIND CRUSH-'_

"Did you think I hadn't done my research?" Gozaburo sneered, grin seeming far more inhuman than it should have been even in death. "I know what monsters defeated yours... And I know that the last time you fought with your 'rival'," he continued, "This was what defeated you!" That- Then...

He was playing with a cookie-cutter deck? SERIOUSLY? "Heh..." That was just...

So damn ridiculous... So...

Ridiculous... "Hnhnhaha... HAH _AHAHAHA_! I don't believe it," she snarled shaking her head and looking to her opponent in disbelief. "You think that by duplicating the strategy of my rival, that you'll defeat me? Think again!" the woman spat, pointing her finger forward as her opponent remained silent. No choice. She didn't know why Gozaburo was throwing this chance away but she had no choice but to decide on a card. "I pick the Right Arm," Seto announced, each of the panels vanishing into a rain of light. "Now finish your turn!"

"Hn! I set a card face down," her opponent stated, crossing his arms with a nod. "End turn." That...

That was it? Seto frowned, still floating in space as she looked to the shimmering plane of light on the ground. For each of them, their hand floated about them like some sort of 'ring'. They couldn't see the image on the other's cards, but they could see somewhat through them to the opponent. She had no way of knowing for that reason, if her opponent had been left with no choice but to use the arm but...

...There was no time to think. If it was the arm, then it was the arm. "Hn! I summon the Blood Vorse," she called out, swinging her arm forward as one of her cards scattered forward to form the monster. The Vorse raider swung his axe-like pole arm with a snarl, hovering in a manner not unlike his master. And to follow that..."Attack the face down card!"

The monster did her bidding immediately with those words but rather than merely charging forward as the monster it was it stretched, faded into a sort of ghost before cutting through the panel before it. And as the panel was cut in two, the ghostly haze reforming at her side as she pulled somewhat away, a single arm could be seen reaching out...

"...Exodia's right arm," she muttered, narrowing her eyes. So it was the final piece.

But why would he throw away all five pieces like that? "Hnhnhnhnhn... HnhnH _AHAHA_! Just as I planned," Gozaburo sneered, Seto continuing to frown from across the field. As planned? How the hell- "It's my turn now," he continued with a grin, "So how about you take a good look at what I'm about to do! I activate Contract with Exodia!" he roared, five pillars of flame erupting around him in the familiar symbol of a pentagram as his opponent paled. "Using the destroyed pieces of Exodia... And paying 2000 lifepoints to summon the demonic counterpart, EXODIA NECROSS!" Exodia...

Necross?

As in death!

Smoke wrapped around from the pillars of flame and as Gozaburo grinned manically he soon became shrouded from view by the thick mantle of dust and ash. Limbs began to form. Arm, shackled with a broken chain... Arm, with joints that creaked like a puppet... Leg... Leg... Rotted and mouthless, eyeless head... Body...

And in the place of its familiar gold hue this Exodia was completely black. Despite her confusion she felt a wave of relief come over her as the blackened monster stood before her. A number had appeared in her head after all; 1800. That was his attack power.

Yet the man before her seemed to care little for this. "Hnhnhnhnhn...Watch," her 'father' taunted, voice echoing through the enormous and mummified beast before her as he took a thundering step forward. "Watch... I have brought Exodia from the grave to the field," he cackled with a roar, "And with more power than you could ever hope for!" More...

More p... "Hn! Bullshit," she muttered, clenching her fists at the insult. "Complete bullshit! With a monster as weak as yours, do you honestly think you can defeat ME?" the woman snarled, eyes wide and filled with rage.

"Hnhnhn... You obviously don't know as much about this game as you think then, do you?” her opponent responded, Seto's brows furrowing in confusion. "I ATTACK!" A...

Attack? But it was obvious that something like that wouldn't work she thought incredulously as the demon's fist shot forth a raging ball of flames, such a play was...

...Impossible...

Yet as the smoke cleared from Necross' flaming attack there was nothing on the ground but her crouching monster, even with a hundred of her opponent's lifepoints seeping away. Necross still stood across from her, and with a leering grin it continued to look down, power increasing along with its size as she stared. "Im... Possible... Why?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head as she looked up at the demon. "Why did it..."

Chuckling rumbled through the air, along with clanking chains as the shackles on Necross' arms shifted. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Necross cannot be destroyed by battle," Gozaburo sneered, Seto swallowing as she looked up at the monster. "In addition," he laughed, the monster's rotted grin widening in response, "It gains 1000 attack points after each battle phase... More than enough to destroy yours in the next turn..." Gh... Sh...

Shit... That meant it had 2800 points. Eugh...

Seto grimaced, stepping back to bite her lip. Shit. And if it wasn't able to be destroyed in battle...

Well, the woman told herself, if she was going to destroy it, it would have to be through some other means. And in that case...

"...My turn," she growled, hair floating past her eyes as another panel of light appeared at her side for her draw. The card she'd just drawn... ...That would work. "I summon Spirit Ryu!" she announced, throwing her hand forward as the next card in her hand shot forward to mist into the dragon's form, ethereal form slithering through the air. "And in addition," she called out, "I activate Burst Breath! Tributing the dragon to destroy any monsters with less defense than the dragon's attack!"

And since Necross had '0' defense she thought to herself, the dragon's glow increasing to a blinding extent as she averted her gaze from the explosion, this card would have to...

Be...

Destroyed...

The light cleared and in its place the dragon was gone, with a menacing cackle sounding from above her. "Hnhnhnhn... What did I tell you?" Gozaburo snarled from above the woman, towering in the form of Necross as she again made to step back in slight horror. "You're not as _smart_ as you think! Necross is invincible... You can NEVER defeat it!" the monster continued to roar, laughing manically. "The Left Leg grants immunity from Spell cards. The Right from Traps... The Left arm protects it from monster's effects, and you already know what the right arm and the head does... You're going to die here!" the monster chuckled, leering above the woman as she stepped back still more with an uneasy swallow. "You're going to DIE..." This...

This...

Not if she could help it she thought, narrowing her eyes and steeling her resolve. Not if she had anything to say about it!

"Set a card," she muttered, stepping back once again as the face-down panel of light glowed before her. "And switch Blood Vorse into defense mode... Make your move!" she snarled, "You won't kill me here-"

" _Can everyone hear me?_ " a voice called out, those in the empty space tensing at the sound. W-What..? Seto turned her attentions upward, narrowing her eyes in confusion as she sought out the source.

Where, she asked herself with a frown. That voice, the voice of a...

...Girl? But she'd heard-

"Kisara?" Seto hissed, the girl appearing in a small pillar of light as her wings floated somewhat behind her. That stupid armadillo was still following her as she came forward in the darkness as well, like some guard dog...

But for what reason was...

"Strange," the girl muttered, shaking her head as she looked to Seto with her usual blank stare. "Noa-sama's voice cannot reach you here..."

"N-Noa?" the woman growled, widening her eyes. But that was Jonouchi's voice... Which meant-

Seto steeled herself yet again, gritting her teeth. "And just what does he wan-"

"I will replay the message," Kisara stated, titling her head somewhat as those in the darkness stared. "So please, calm down." Calm down! How was she supposed to calm down when-

"Repeating the message to 'Seto Kaiba-sama'," the girl continued dully, bowing her head as Seto in question stared. " _Seto_ ," the girl began, using the voice of Noa's 'normal' self. " _Though you cannot likely tell from this recording, I am speaking to you from Katsuya's body_ ," the girl's 'creator' admitted, Seto growing pale as her suspicions were confirmed. " _I know for a fact that this knowledge will not sit well with you..._ " Hah... NO SHIT..! " _But I intend to return it._ "

...What?

The woman before Kisara blinked, listening as she continued. " _There is no time to argue about this; I must deliver to you a warning._ " A warning? " _At this moment, there are missiles aimed toward this fortress. They will fire in ten minutes,_ " Kisara explained through a monotone form of Noa's voice, " _And I cannot stop them. It's one thing if your bodies are the only things destroyed,_ " she went on, " _But if everything is destroyed that world goes with it; you'll all die, and not even technology will save you at that point. You have limited time,_ " the girl continued on. " _And until you complete this fight, you cannot escape._ " What! She...

She would... "...Noa," she said with narrowed eyes, Kisara blinking in response. "Is my brother alright?" If Mokuba was safe...

If he was safe and out of harms way... It wouldn't matter, she told herself. She needed to get out yes, but so long as he was alright...

"He is safe," Kisara responded in her normal voice, bowing her head politely. "His mind has been separated from the Virtual World; he will awaken shortly." Hah...

Good, Seto thought with a small sigh of relief. That was...

"Noa... What have you DONE?" Gozaburo roared, the 'Exodia' shuddering as eye-sockets seemed to 'widen' with rage, the monster turning to the program in horror. "To fire missiles at this base, to destroy everything... WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!" he cried in panic.

There was a short span of silence, Kisara closing her eyes for a moment. In the end she turned to the monster, looking up with seemingly calm and even pitiful eyes as she again spoke with Noa's voice. " _...Father,"_ Noa said sadly, Kisara shaking her head with a sigh. " _I'm sorry... But you are beyond control,_ " he said clearly. " _You are beyond hope. So, to save these people..._ "

"You... You would BETRAY ME?" the demon roared, slowly becoming more and more enflamed as the form of Necross seemed to crumple to ash beneath the fires. "DESTROY ME? You would KILL YOUR OWN FATHER?"

Again Kisara bowed her head, a few tears appearing to run down her face as she bit her lip. " _...I'm sorry, father... I..._ "

"You've made the right decision," Seto said plainly, looking down at the vessel for Noa's voice as she blinked, the armadillo at her side also nudging Kisara on the side. "You have no need to apologize."

" _...Right. ...Seto,_ " Noa continued quickly, Kisara's expression becoming more severe than unnerved. " _Time is of the essence; hurry, alright?_ "

The woman nodded, only for a thundering roar to come from before them as she jumped back. "You... YOU... NO!" the monster roared, bursting into flames and charging toward Seto as the woman found herself locked in place. "NO! I'll just take your body as my own!" the ghost snarled, mouth widening to reveal flaming teeth as it spiraled forward. "I'll take your body and escape with my life... And I'll leave you behind!" he roared, his 'daughter' swallowing as she looked upward.

What?

Fires closed in toward her, filling her vision. Seto's eyes widened in slight surprise, but despite this she found herself unable to move, locked completely in place as the fires came near. Closer...

Move...

Closer...

Move damn it..!

Closer...

" _NO_ ," a fierce and screeching voice cried abruptly, white filling her vision. " _YOU WILL NOT HARM ANOTHER CHILD!_ " C-Child?

Seto blinked, eyes widening as the flames were repelled by some unknown white light. The mask... The mask from before was sitting before her as were the two programs, each facing the monster before them as the flaming demon snarled.

"This fight will continue!" Seraph was shouting, showing more emotion in his voice than ever before as a light shined in his eyes.

"This fight must come to a fair end!" Kisara continued, her own eyes wide with determination far unlike her own or even Jonouchi's as the white mist swirled angrily between them.

"And YOU!" the shade snarled, pushing Gozaburo's flaming form backward as it evaporated and disintegrated back into the ashen form of the monster it had spawned from. "YOUR TIME IS LIMITED!" That voice...

Seto frowned, recognizing the tones from the staircase up to this place. She'd heard this voice but...

Who was that woman..? "Gh... RA _AAAGHH_.. GET OFF! " the demonic being was snarling. "GET OFF..!"

"...You," Seto muttered quickly, turning to 'Seraph' as the boy blinked. "...How much time remains?"

"Eight minutes forty seconds," he responded plainly, Seto nodding in response.

"Alright then... GOZABURO!" she shouted, looking forward with narrowed eyes as the programs stepped to the side, the white spirit of his late wife having vanished into nothingness. "We will continue this fight!" the woman stated clearly, her opponent still growling from across her. "And should you 'win'," Seto continued, visibly grimacing at what she was about to say, "You'll get your 'wish'..."

As disgusting a thought as that was.

Not that he would win anyways of course but the words nonetheless calmed the demon, and again the ashen form of 'Necross' stood before her to make his move. "You... Very well," Gozaburo snarled, the monster's fists clenching. "But I won't forget your words... It's my turn now!" he snarled, throwing a punch forward, "And I ATTACK!" Hn!

"Not if I can help it..! Negate attack!" she announced, kicking back from the empty space as a vortex appeared to absorb the flames before her. The monster may have been immune to destruction by card effect, but everything else was fair game. "And now it's my turn! I activate 'Shrink'," Seto shouted, throwing another hand forward as panels in her hand began to flip forward and vanish into dust. "Halving Necross' attack for this turn! I then tribute Blood Vorse to summon the Emerald Dragon," she continued, running forward as the monster appeared beneath her feet in a green mist, rising in the same shade of colour she was currently glowing with. Alright... "Now... ATTACK!" she snarled, the dragon halting its run to charge a blast of flames in its mouth.

"RAA _AAOOOOOOOOO_!"

Fires blasted past Necross in an alarmingly wide-scale attack, the opposing monster snarling in rage as his lifepoints plummeted. "GH- You... Even if your spells still work in this way, my POWER still surpasses yours... You haven't changed one bit!" Gozaburo spat, his opponent merely glaring in response. "Always refusing to admit defeat in the face of even the invincible..."

"Nothing's 'really' invincible," Seto sneered, narrowing her eyes from the back of the dragon as she stared the demon down. "You shouldn't underestimate me. Your monster might gain '1000' points for each battle," she spat, "But you can't defend either..." And that was going to hurt him in the end. "You might be 'immortal'," the woman continued, "But you're certainly not 'undefeatable'!"

"WE WILL SOON SEE!" her opponent retorted, the shadows released with his roar throwing his 'daughter' back as the dragon evaporated into a mist as a result. "I ATTACK," he snarled, mists surrounding the girl before him as she fell. HNG-

"HRA _AAH-G_!" Gh-!

There was no wall or floor to land on in this place, but nonetheless it hurt for some reason when she finally came to a stop far in the distance. Necross' flames burned across the darkness, illuminating a single path to her opponent...

And as she stood her hand returned to view, the holograms floating around her hovering form as she attempted to breath. There was a timer in her mind. Telling her how much time there was before the missile fired...

Necross had 4800 attack points, and she had three minutes. He'd made his move. It was her turn now. A hand rose up to touch one of the cards at her side, eyes narrowed as she stared across the field. This latest draw...

It was definitely one of those 'last resort' ones, that was for certain. "Activate Pot of Greed," she announced, the extra panels of drawn cards shifting into existence at her side as she skimmed the cards she'd drawn. "Next, set a monster face down," the woman continued, "And set a card..." And with this strategy...

If she made the right draw next turn...

Flames blasted past her as the lamp she'd summoned to her defense was destroyed, Seto ducking under her arm as the resultant explosion shattered her card and threw molten gold in her face. Gh...

'Phase one complete' she hissed mentally, squinting over her arm. She just needed the right card now, and...

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Is that all?" Gozaburo sneered, chuckling as he began to make his slow approach toward the woman. "I dare you to find a monster more powerful than this... I dare you to even STAND for another turn," he taunted, Seto merely holding a cold expression of hate and indifference on her face. "You... You don't stand a chance against this power!" They would soon see...

Hn! "Power, power, power," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she looked upward. "You keep saying it as though the attack is the only thing that contributes to such a thing. ...Hn... You really are a pathetic fighter," Seto hissed, her next card appearing in her hand as she leered forward. This card...

...Gozaburo had 5800 attack points on his monster. But she'd at last gotten the card she needed. "You... I'll show you to rely on a monster like this," she muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"Show me?" her 'father' taunted, before cackling almost madly from across the woman. "And again, your bluffs remain as strong as ever!" Hn!

"They were never bluffs." One minute left. "WATCH, Gozaburo... I activate the Monster Reborn to bring the Mystical Lamp back from the graveyard!" she announced, the clawed lamp appearing to the field and skittering before her in an almost ghost-like form. "I then activate its effect, special summoning La Jinn to the field... Your monster can't be destroyed, not physically," she continued, narrowing her eyes. "But then again, you don't have a body of your own, do you?" Seto hissed. "You're DEAD... Nothing but ashes in a forgotten urn! You think you can fight," the woman snarled, "Think again... In a battle like this, the soul is what's tested! So let me test yours before I show you mine! I activate the trap Soul Crush!" she roared almost triumphantly, "Allowing me to remove monsters from either graveyard at the cost of 500 life points each... I have three," she continued with narrowed eyes. "But you... You have Five," Seto growled, pointing toward her opponent. "The Left Leg," she began, shadows evaporating as shining gold met the air and Gozaburo tensed. "The Right leg... The Left arm," the woman continued as the shadows continued to vanish and mist away to nothing, "The Right arm..." She had six hundred points left...

Time to make this count!

"And finally... The Head!" Thirty seconds. "Your so called power is useless without those remains in the graveyard," she sneered, "So let me show you your 'reward'... I sacrifice my two monsters!" Seto announced, her lifepoints depleted to a mere 100 with the trap card's effect depleted. "And I summon up the very monster of my soul... I summon BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!" the woman roared white mist filling the air around her as the monster's enormous maw appeared above her to roar. "And now that your 'power' has been put in its place, I attack. This is it Gozaburo!" Seto continued. "CHECKMATE; BURST STREAM!"

"GRAAAA _AAOOOOOOOOO_!"

White light tore forth as her 'father's' face seemed to appear over the Exodia, and even through the flames she could see the monster's burning form. "W-WHAT!?" he was snarling, arms raised in defense. "NO! NO, THAT ISN'T-" The shouts of her former father were cut short by the sounds of crackling flames, and in a moment her dragon settled to the ground to vanish to a mist at her side. The fires as well vanished just shortly thereafter...

But as she stood there looking toward the mere shade that remained of Gozaburo a cold feeling began to fill her. This wasn't the end she thought to herself, even as the programming around the room began to shift around them. This was far from the end she realized as she stepped back and tensed, far from it...

Ten seconds until fire.

Seto walked forward in the darkness despite her mind telling her to do otherwise, stopping a number of feet away from where Gozaburo seemed to stand. He was as he appeared on his dying day yet again. Dressed in the suit that smelled of ash and looking toward her with eyes filled with hate, sneering from where he stood. And now...

"HOW?" the man growled from across her, shaking with rage. "How could I LOSE! It was the perfect strategy!" he roared, looking toward the girl he'd taken in those years ago as the 'ante' in a bet. "PERFECT! I calculated everything," Gozaburo snarled, "Everything!" Calculations? Please.

"You can't measure my strength using a computer," she scoffed, looking to the man in disgust. "You can burn in hell where you belong now..."

"You... I don't THINK SO!" he roared, rising upward in a pillar of flames as a vision from nightmares only just passed came before the girl. An enormous and snake-like crocodile, made of nothing but flames...

Nothing but...

Seto froze in place as the monster towered over her, eyes naught but slits in the fire. "I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" Gozaburo was roaring, already coming from above to devour her completely. "I'LL TAKE YOU TO HELL WITH ME... YOU AN EVERYONE YOU KNOW..!"

Five seconds...

" _Grab my hand,_ " someone whispered as she stared upward, the woman unable to move in the face of the demon.

Who said that...

" _Grab my hand,_ " the voice repeated, the flames coming closer, licking the sides of her face as Gozaburo's fires held her in place.

Who... " _Damn it Seto-chan!_ " Jonouchi roared, the woman above suddenly finding herself falling as the flaming monster's jaws closed over on nothing. "GRAB MY HAND!"

She didn't know why she reached out as she fell. As the fires began to close in again from above, and as she turned around to look downward, but...

Lift off.

In an instant the shadows were gone, as were the fires, Gozaburo...

Everything. There was nothing but empty blank space, feeling almost 'grey' rather than black or white. They were still falling...

And Jonouchi had pulled her close she realized after a moment of shocked silence, her eyes narrowing with annoyance. He'd pulled her right against her in some 'protective' embrace, her arms pinned against the blond's body and-!

"Gh... Jonouchi!" she growled, looking toward the blond as she moved her hands to push off him somewhat, "What are you-" The woman froze, looking down as her hands brushed against something rough. Something underneath the blond's shirt, something...

Some sort of 'impression', a mess of ruined and calloused flesh and-

"...What the hell is this?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes as an impression of a scar appeared in the shirt beneath her. "Where the hell did you get thi-"

Jonouchi merely smiled sadly as he let the woman go, Seto 'sinking' upwards in protest as the blond fell downward. What...

What was he..! "Time t' wake up, Seto-chan..." What...

What... And he wasn't..?

No, she screamed, only for nothing to come out as she reached back, eyes wide. NO damn it, she wasn't leaving without-

"Hgh!" Seto's eyes flung open as the pod above her slowly began to click upward, allowing her the room to sit up. "Wh... This..."

Slowly the woman stepped out of the pod, taking in the rest of the room. The opened capsules at the side... The flashing screen that read 'Missile Fired; Five Minutes to Impact'...

The bloodied room at the other end, where sparks still flew from some sort of battle that she hadn't seen. And more importantly, across from her own pod...

"...Jonouchi," she muttered, walking toward it to stare at the glass shield. This idiot... She could leave him here a nasty side of her mind thought, but that thought was quickly squashed, the woman scowling momentarily as she did so. Mokuba would hardly enjoy it.

But neither would she, no doubt about it. And besides that, he saved her life... Noa was the one who took his body, so... Yes.

That was the reason she would wait, she told herself. She was in this moron's debt; no other reason. She would wait to make sure the idiot made it out alive, rather than simply leaving and counting down until it was too late. So with that in mind...

She stood beside the pod, and waited for her friend to wake up.

* * *

The field was white again.

It seemed to be a popular colour for these sorts of things but... At least he wasn't a computer any more, he thought to himself with relief. Heck...

That much was obvious when he tried to figure out how much time was left before 'impact' only to fail horribly. Katsuya looked around with somewhat dim eyes, hands stowed in the pockets of his jeans. Those last few moments...

He'd almost lost himself, maybe even did for a moment, but he'd come back somehow. Honestly he wasn't really sure what held him steady in the end, what was allowing him to come back to being himself so easily. Maybe it was wanting to get out. Maybe his friends...

Maybe...

"Erf!" Katsuya turned as a small puppy sat before him, frowning somewhat as the cheerful dog wagged its tail in predictable pattern. Round brown eyes sparkled as they looked upward and again it barked, ears twitching cheerily as he stared back. This dog...

This was Noa's, right? "...You... You don' need tha' form anymore though, do y'?" he asked, looking down at the dog as it continued to 'smile' and bark.

"No," another voice said softly, Katsuya slowly turning around as Noa's smiling face met his gaze. "But then, he was my first friend in this place," he continued, the dog running past Katsuya to join his owner before being picked up into fabric covered arms. "I thought it would be appropriate to have him here when I say good-bye." Of course...

But... "...Yer clothes," Katsuya whispered, the boy continuing to smile as the long sleeved, white kimono hung over his form.

"I thought I should try it on," he explained, scratching his puppy's head. "What with me being... ..."

"...Dead," the blond offered almost sadly, Noa still smiling as he looked toward the blond.

"Yes... Dead." No other word for it... Was there? "...Katsuya... Before I go," Noa continued quietly, placing his dog on the ground to step forward, "I want to thank you... For what you did to me..." For what he...

Ah... "But... But I broke you," Katsuya whispered, face pale with the memory of his actions. "I-"

"No," Noa said with that same smile, shaking his head. "You saved me."

...Oh... "...And th' others?" he asked, eyes dimming as he recalled everything else that happened, recalled the memories that had briefly flooded his mind only to be deleted from it just as quickly. "Did we save them from whatever happened here?" He certainly hadn't bothered to try, despite the 'real him' wanting to have done that. Despite the real him wanting to erase everything that had been done, all the damage, all the trauma... It had always been passed off as useless though.

Always... "...I did what I could," the boy across from him said, still smiling sadly as Katsuya stared. "I've dulled the pain as much as I can. Lessened the clarity of images that shouldn't have occurred, so that all they will remember upon thinking back is that it hurt and that it'll never happen again. But no matter what I do the scars will always remain," he continued, his friend slowly nodding in understanding. Yeah...

"...Th' memories..." What happened that was inflicted from their own minds, from their own thoughts... That wouldn't leave, never leave, and they both knew that.

Noa nodded, smile dimming as the words sunk in, the boy turning away. "For some it'll be worse than others," he whispered, shaking his head. "And for some, the damage that's left behind will have a lasting and possibly dangerous effect... But I can't fix that," the boy continued sadly, shaking his head as he looked back. "I can't, and I..."

"...Tha's alrigh'," he told the boy, nodding his head. "Y' did what y' could righ'?"

Another nod from Noa. "Yes... I suppose." Another short span of silence, taking advantage of the altered timing the computer had placed them in. "...This... This is my last moment," Noa eventually said awkwardly, rubbing his shoulder as he turned somewhat away. "But in the end," the boy admitted, "I couldn't take anyone with me." Take? "Your friend, 'Malik'," he continued, Katsuya staring in confusion. "He'd said..."

"'One Life' is everything," the blond finished, a slight vision coming to mind despite the continued digital barrier that prevented anything serious from getting into his mind. "Even one life is worth it if you can save them all..." And then... A little bit afterward... "...We are still th' same."

"There are some people who didn't deserve to die," Noa whispered, smiling sadly as he wiped his eyes. "And others who have yet to truly live... I managed to create the first AI with real 'personalities'," he laughed, shaking his head as he continued to speak about the programs. "How is that even possible?"

Katsuya could do nothing but shrug, still looking to the boy with a sad frown. "...Who knows," he whispered, eyes growing somewhat dull. "Yer a special guy, Noa..."

And still, his answers were nods. "Yes... I... I suppose so... But I still couldn't kill them," he told his friend, shaking his head and looking up at the blond across from him. "I couldn't... I've sent them somewhere safe," the boy continued, "With a 'parent' to guide them," he added with a small smile. "Someone to keep them safe, and raise them..." A parent...

But if Noa wasn't creating more programs then...

"Th's 'parent'," he muttered, frowning somewhat. "Who..."

"You won't see him again," Noa assured him, shaking his head with a slight smile. "At least, I don't think so. I just wanted you to know... I... ...I'm still scared," the boy cried somewhat, looking down as he choked. "Of death... Of 'moving on', but I..." He sniffed, wiping his face with the long sleeves before facing Katsuya with a smile. "But I'm ready. So... Thank you, alright Katsuya? You're going to wake up now... In your real body but... Even though you still have three minutes," he explained, looking at him seriously, "My father... He's not fully bound to this world. Once its destroyed... Once his rage allows him to return," the boy trailed off, "I won't be able to..."

"Don' worry," the blond assured him, closing his eyes as the scene faded from around him. "We'll figure somethin' out..."

"...Okay."

Time to wake up...

* * *

' _Jonouchi..._ '

Someone was calling him. His limbs were numb and feeling was only barely returning, and he thought he heard someone whisper his name.

' _Jonouchi..._ ' Someone was calling him, and they weren't stopping... But there was a small rush of air around him, as though something had rushed out from wherever he was. And that voice...

Where had he heard-

' _Damn it MUTT_ ,' the voice snarled, "WAKE UP!" Wait...

Seto! "Nyh!" The blond jolted from his seated position, eyes flying open as he rose toward the source of the clearly aggravated shout.

_-CONK_

"AAAAACK-!" The glass of the pod hissed completely open as Katsuya rubbed his head, groaning in pain. "Ow ow ow... Damn it!" he growled, clutching his head, "Why can't these things open fas'-"

"Not now mutt," Seto hissed, grabbing the blond by the arm and pulling him roughly from the pod as he choked. It really was Seto he told himself mentally, it was- "We need to leave!" Leave?

"Ah-" Katsuya blinked, hurriedly recalling the time they had. He didn't have to look at the screen to know it wasn't much. Didn't have to look back to know that the computers were already beginning to go haywire under the pressure of two opposing 'CPU' intelligences...

His mind was back to its usual fore-warning self, and as the seconds ticked away his face grew pale. "S-Shit," he shouted quickly, running off with a stumble as he was half-dragged into a start off by the woman who had waited behind for him. "SHIT!"

He didn't really know how fast they ran. How long it took them to get through the blood-trailed hall, or onto the already prepared to leave airship, ignoring the shrapnel and the bloodied path that led inside the vehicle. It was already rising as they approached, and the others were shouting from the sides, gripping support poles as they held out their hands.

"HURRY!" they cried, eyes wide. Ryuzaki was missing, Katsuya noted. So was Shizuka, and Mokuba... "HURRY!" the four teens on the steps shouted in panic, "It's almost here!"

And indeed it was, given the flash of the furling clouds!

Seto was first. She leaped onto the platform and grabbed at the bar, turning back as Katsuya himself scrambled to snatch at the rising support rail that was just out of reach. But while Seto had managed to jump onto the device he himself had barely caught onto the bottom, his fingers slipping in sweat as he choked. "Gh- Ngh... Shit," he hissed, fingers beginning to slide off as the ship took off, his only attachment to the door being that one hand. "Shit," he repeated, his other arm failing to catch hold of the door, "I'm sli-"

A strong hand snatched him by the wrist, pulling the shocked blond upward as its owner scowled. "I haven't fired you yet," Seto growled, the others staring with wide eyes as the ship continued to take off. "Don't even think of getting yourself killed until you give me a reason to do something like that," she added, pulling her 'friend' inside as the others stared.

"Ahhh..."

"S-Seto-sama-!" The others turned as they hurried in from the outside of the ship, Kyouko breathing raggedly as she stood at the top of the stairs before them. "Seto-sama," she repeated, those behind hurriedly closing the door behind them, "The ship is being blown off course... We might not make it out of missile range in time," she continued, "We-"

"Tch..." The woman charged forward, the others following behind as they headed for the bridge with nowhere else to go. "Direct all controls to the main wheel," she announced through the 'male' tones they were familiar with, heading for the very stand she'd hot-wired earlier that morning. "This ghost," she snarled to herself, barely keeping her voice down even with the controlled disguise as she took up the 'wheel'. "I won't be swallowed by him!"

A button on the side was slammed down as the missile struck the water and base behind them. As flames rose from the waters and snarled with crocodile's teeth, and as a firey maw opened up and screamed " _SETOOOOOOOOO_!"

With a loud 'crack' the airship abandoned the balloon like structure it carried, jets blasting the plane forward as those at the back were thrown to the ground by the force. As the fires behind them were left with an empty shell to feed off of, before falling back to the seas. Soon enough however, the shockwaves had passed...

And as the plane doubled back in the air they looked down, unable to see anything but smoke. There was nothing but the flames of a dying ghost, of a ruined shadow of the past...

And then...

Though he wasn't completely sure if it wasn't just him...

There was a light. A white mist, a light, blowing over the smoke to form a smiling woman with a child, the pair waving up from the seas with relieved smiles upon their faces.

" _Thank you,_ " Rota called out. " _Thank you...And goodbye,_ " she continued on, holding her son close as she cried, her mask abandoned and her face repaired. " _We're going home..._ " They were leaving...

They were finally going to get some rest...

"...So long, Noa," Katsuya found himself muttering, looking down at the wreckage as the others stared almost sadly at the sight outside the bridge window. And as the mist vanished, it was almost as though the others could hear him as well...

" _Sayounara... Everyone..._ "


End file.
